'Boardwalk Empire' Finale Ratings Fall Just Shy of Last Season

Macall B. Polay/HBO

Boardwalk Empire concluded another season in typically brutal fashion on Sunday night, and 2.7 million viewers tuned in to see HBO wrap up the latest run of the Steve Buscemi starrer.

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That's about 300,000 viewers shy of the December 2011 finale, which brought in 3 million viewers in its first outing and famously dispatched series co-lead Michael Pitt. With multiple plays during the course of the night, Sunday's Boardwalk Empire attracted a total of 4.3 million viewers.

Terence Winter's Prohibition-era drama set in Atlantic City continues to be an exceptionally steady performer for the cable network. It returned in September with a premiere haul of 2.9 million viewers in its inguinal broadcast, the same number its sophomore opener brought. And while Sunday night's season finale doesn't match that haul, it is the season's second-most-watched episode.

Season-to-date, Boardwalk Empire has grossed 7.6 million viewers per episode with originals, DVR usage, on-demand and HBO Go all taken into consideration. The second season averaged 8 million viewers.

Boardwalk Empire was renewed for a fourth season in October.