A Serial Killer And A Corrupt Judge Somehow Beat ‘The Bear’s Third Season Streaming Debut Numbers

The Bear recently brought back Carmy’s temper tantrums in a season that had some outstanding episodes but didn’t overall hit the same (extremely high) bar of the FX show’s first two seasons (that exclusively appears on Hulu via streaming) in quality. Still, the stress-packed series’ return managed to yield extraordinarily high streaming numbers, as the Nielsen data shows.

As Indiewire relays below, The Bear did notch 1.2 billion viewing minutes within five days of third-season launch, which qualified the show as the top original streaming series of the week. Yet two already-aired Showtime series managed to eclipse those Chefs. Those would be Dexter (which will soon hatch a prequel called Original Sin ) and Your Honor (which has been absurdly popular relative to original Showtime numbers because the Internet loves it when Bryan Cranston breaks bad ) with both now streaming on Netflix.

Hmm, The Bear really wasn’t the winner ?

It would have been, if not for the pesky “Your Honor” (1.6 billion viewing minutes) and “Dexter” (1.5 billion minutes). The two over-and-done-with Showtime dramas both now stream on Netflix and Paramount+, though Netflix is really the only difference-maker. Both had two extra days of availability vs. “The Bear” Season 3; Advantage: Not “The Bear.”

“Your Honor” (2020-2023) had a “broader appeal” than “Dexter,” Nielsen said. Viewers were more diverse – and older. “Dexter” mainly reached viewers 18-34, which is the core streaming demo.

Another qualifier exists here. Dexter ‘s eight seasons became Netflix-streamable as of June 19, and only a pair of Your Honor seasons exist. That means that both shows are being streamed like wildfire, but Your Honor is scoring more viewers overall. Of course, there are also questions about whether the show’s newfound popularity could resurrect the Panic Cranston for a third season, but more certainty exists in Dexter: Original Sin likely arriving with a bigger audience than Showtime has ever seen for the franchise. Get ready.

(Via Indiewire )