HBO's 'Newsroom' Opens to Solid 2.1 Million Viewers

Brigitte Lacombe/HBO

"The Newsroom"

HBO's The Newsroom opened to 2.1 million viewers Sunday, besting the recent bow for the ill-fated horse-racing drama Luck.

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Factoring in Sunday's 10 p.m. premiere and encore at 11:15 p.m., the installment collected 2.7 million total viewers, with the opening hour's debut serving as the third-best drama series bow since 2008, behind Boardwalk Empire's 4.8 million and Game of Thrones' 2.2 million.

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The drama about the inner workings of a cable news show starring Jeff Daniels and from The West Wing's Aaron Sorkin also bested the series premieres of True Blood (1.4 million) and Luck, which collected 1.1 million and was immedately renewed for a second season before being axed after the deaths of three horses.

The Newsroom launch followed a new episode of True Blood, which collected 5 million viewers across two plays at 9 p.m. and 12:30 a.m.

HBO is now streaming the Newsroom premiere on multiple online and on-demand platforms, including YouTube.

Email: Lesley.Goldberg@thr.com; Twitter: @Snoodit