The season 3 finale of “Squid Game,” the dystopian Korean series on Netflix, delivers a grim ending. … More
The premiere of Squid Game season 3 has drawn quite a bit of online buzz, as the hugely popular dystopian Korean drama returned for what’s billed as its final season. But it appears people weren’t quite as excited about it as they were about the previous season.
Viewership for Squid Game’s third-season premiere on Netflix Friday was down compared to the season 2 debut. It averaged 1.6 million U.S. households, according to live-plus-three-day viewing data crunched by Samba TV, which provides TV technology for audience data and omniscreen measurement.
That is a good number for Netflix, but it’s not as good as season 2’s debut. That drew just over 1.9 million households, giving season 3 a 17% decline from the previous season’s tune-in.
Who Watched Squid Game Season 3?
Notably, Samba found that Hispanic and Asian households were much more likely to tune into the program than the average house. It says Asian household viewership overindexed by 48%, whole Hispanic household viewership overindexed by 55% when compared to the national average.
There’s good reason for that. While Netflix has tons of content, offerings featuring Asians in a leading role are in shorter supply—and it has more than other streamers.
The reason for the popularity among Hispanics is less clear, though the original has a Mexican contestant and there was a very popular TikTok about how Mexicans would play the Squid Game.
How Does Squid Game Season 3 Compare To Other Netflix Premieres?
The 1.6 million for Squid Game is a solid number for the streamer. But it is not the best this year. Barely a week earlier, the series debut of The Waterfront, the soapy new family drama from the producer of Dawson’s Creek (Kevin Williamson), drew slightly better numbers. Waterfront drew 1.7 million households, according to Samba data.
Another recent debut, Ransom Canyon, posted similar numbers. The western drama, starring Josh Duhamel and Minka Kelly, posted 1.5 million households in its debut. Netflix was clearly pleased, as it just renewed the program for a second season.
Why Is Squid Game Season 3 Viewership Down?
Viewership for Squid Game season 3 could have dipped for many reasons. As Samba points out, season 2 debuted on Netflix in the United States on December 26 last year—the day after Christmas, when many Americans have off work. They could just binge the show without distractions, whereas last Friday wasn’t a holiday and could have seen lower engagement simply because of that.
Or, on the other hand, fans may have been waiting for the upcoming July 4 holiday to binge the show, taking advantage of the downtime.
And others may have seen critical online buzz about the Squid Game season 3 ending that turned them off from watching the program.