After sending Vinyl to the dollar bin of television history after one season, HBO seems to be returning to its strategy of allowing new series to grow, renewing three of its fall series—Westworld, Insecure, and Divorce—for second seasons. That shouldn’t come as a surprise with Westworld, which has been a reliable source of obsessive fan theorizing, some of it on this very site, since its debut on October 2. It’s also been performing very well in the ratings: according to an HBO press release, the show is averaging 11.7 million viewers per episode, outperforming its fellow water-cooler phenomena Game Of Thrones and True Detective at similar points in their runs.
Insecure, meanwhile, is pulling in Veep and Girls-level numbers, averaging 3.2 million viewers per episode. That particular program has also had the benefit of generally positive critical reviews (it’s currently at 100 percent at Rotten Tomatoes), unlike the Sarah Jessica Parker-starring Divorce, which has met a more mixed reception. SJP gets better ratings than Issa Rae, though, pulling in 4.4 million viewers per episode.