The White Lotus Season 2 is off and running for HBO and HBO Max.
The White Lotus Season 2 Episode 1 managed 1.5 million viewers across the premium cabler and streaming service on Sunday.
Total cross-platform viewing was up 63% vs. the season 1 premiere night (944K) and up 35% compared to the average debut night audience for each episode across season 1 (1.1 million).
However, the number doesn’t quite reach the highs of the Season 1 finale, which drew 1.9 million viewers.
The White Lotus Season 1 went on to average 9.3 million viewers per episode across platforms in the U.S.
The series saw a resurgence of viewing in the weeks leading up to the season 2 premiere, ranking among the top 5 series on HBO Max last week.
The series from Mike White initially started its life as a miniseries before getting renewed to become an anthology.
It received 20 Emmy® nominations across 13 categories, and 10 wins, the most wins of any program this year, including Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series.
Jennifer Coolidge returned for the second season, as did Jon Gries.
New cast members include F. Murray Abraham, Adam DiMarco, Beatrice Grannò, Meghann Fahy, Tom Hollander, Sabrina Impacciatore, Michael Imperioli, Theo James, Aubrey Plaza, Haley Lu Richardson, Will Sharpe, Simona Tabasco, and Leo Woodall.
The action shifted to Italy on The White Lotus Season 2 Episode 1, which kicked off with the revelation that bodies were popping up all over the exclusive resort.
The rest of the season occurs across a week leading up to the revelations about who died.
New episodes unspool Sundays at 9 p.m. on HBO and HBO Max.
What are your thoughts on the viewership?
Do you think the new mystery is as addictive as the first?
Hit the comments below.
Paul Dailly is the Associate Editor for TV Fanatic. Follow him on Twitter.
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