Praise Kier: Apple TV+’s hit series Severance is bringing in record viewership for the streamer.
The sci-fi dystopian thriller is officially Apple TV+’s most-watched show in history after its sophomore season debuted in January. That’s more viewership than all three seasons of the Apple TV+ sports comedy Ted Lasso, which was previously the most-watched series on the streamer.
The most recent Nielsen figures available saw Severance bring in 582 million minutes of viewing for the week of Feb. 3 through Feb. 9 . Viewership for the first two weeks the second season was available was slightly higher, at 589 million and 622 million minutes, respectively, and viewership for the third week clocked in at 550 million minutes.
Demand for the show was 51.6x the demand for an average TV series in the US in the last 30 days, according to Parrot Analytics, which measures TV shows against the “average demand across all titles.”
Ahead of Season 2’s Jan. 17 premiere, the streamer made its programming free to view for the weekend of Jan. 3–5. During the period of Jan. 1–19, new subscriber sign-ups jumped 126% versus Dec. 1–19, 2024, Apple said.
And if Season 1’s performance is any indication, Severance Season 2 could be big for Apple. The inaugural season brought in over $200 million in value for the streamer, according to an estimate from Parrot Analytics, with almost half of that coming in the 12 months after the Season 1 finale. Parrot Analytics calculates these values by analyzing subscribers and audience demand.
Testing floor: Apple TV+ has largely lagged behind the competition when it comes to building a subscriber base and finding strong viewership, but hits like Severance and Ted Lasso have allowed the platform to stand out. Apple TV+ has also released shows that resemble other hit series, like La Maison, a French fashion house drama that’s been compared to HBO’s Succession, as it tries to crack the code of what kinds of shows resonate with viewers.
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