Showtime’s ‘Tudors’ Finale Commands Viewers
Much-Hyped Series Closes Out Second Season With Strong Ratings
By R. Thomas Umstead -- Multichannel News, 6/3/2008 12:10:00 PM
Showtime’s June 3 second-season climax of The Tudors ended with a ratings bang.
The pay service’s provocative original drama about Henry the VIII drew 852,000 viewers for its sophomore finale, 83% above the 465,000 viewers that tuned into the show’s season-one finale, Showtime officials said.
The 9 p.m. telecast is also the second-highest for the series, trailing only the 964,000 viewers for the show’s April 1, 2007 debut.
The season-two finale, along with an 11 p.m. replay, drew a combined 1 million viewers, 59% above last year’s 668,000 combined audience for last year’s finale (10 p.m. and 11 p.m.).
The premium network two months ago announced it was bringing back The Tudors for a third campaign in 2009. Production is slated to begin on June 16 in Dublin, with Jonathan Rhys Meyers once again reprising his role as the King.
