Does 'Vinyl' Season 2 Renewal Signal Trouble at HBO?
Despite its premiere episode pulling in 764,000 viewers, far fewer than other premieres for shows such as True Detective, The Newsroom, and The Leftovers, HBO's latest series from Martin Scorsese has been renewed for a second season.
Comparatively, True Detective, for example, pulled in 2.33 million viewers for its debut episode. The critical response, too, has been lukewarm for the pilot episode of Vinyl. Many reviews did exhibit optimism regarding the future of the series, going by the events that play out in its opening hour.
With Boardwalk Empire and The Newsroom done and dusted, and with David Fincher's Utopia falling through the cracks due to disagreements on budget, HBO is lacking in its original programming, so a renewal isn't so much of a surprise. Beside Vinyl, the network only has three original drama series.
But given The leftovers is in the writing stages for its final season, and True Detective is up in the air after a heavily scrutinised second season, Game of Thrones is the true driving force for HBO right now. Sci-fi series Westworld is on the way, but again that has also hit problems along the way.
HBO sincerely hopes Vinyl is the hit they need, as much as they are hoping that porn drama The Deuce and Westworld get a move on to fill out their slate.
Source: Collider
