The hype for Star Trek: Picard was huge going into its premiere early this year, with Trek fans freaking out over having Patrick Stewart back as Jean-Luc after almost 20 years. And while the show definitely has a lot of fans, it received a similar reception to Discovery in that some sections of the fandom didn’t take to its more mature, contemporary approach to the franchise and the classic characters.
That might explain the precipitous drop in viewers that apparently occurred as Picard season 1 unfolded. Though CBS All Access has yet to reveal official numbers, it’s been stated that Picard‘s premiere earned the biggest ratings of any show on the streaming service to date. However, Giant Freakin Robot claims that the finale episode, in comparison, drew 45% fewer viewers.
So, nearly 50% of fans in the U.S. gave up on the series as the debut season progressed. Obviously, some sort of decline is to be expected, but that sort of drop is not good whatever way you cut it. The outlet does note that this info isn’t corroborated by a second source yet, but it does seem to match up with the slip in Canadian viewers across the series that was revealed through officially released figures.
1.8 million Canadians watched Picard‘s premiere episode, but 30% had switched off by the time of episode 5 to bring the number down to 1.3 million. We don’t have any ratings for episode 10 at present, but you would imagine – based on this downward trajectory – that there was a similar 50% drop across the season, just like what apparently happened with American viewers.
Regardless of the nosediving ratings, Star Trek: Picard season 2 is still coming. It was supposed to shoot this past summer, but has been pushed back due to the pandemic and Jeri Ryan has teased that production is now intending to start in the fall. As for whether the falling figures could affect its longevity, CBS is only planning on making three seasons as it is, so hopefully it’ll be able to stick around until they’ve completed the story they’re looking to tell.
