Add Ransom Canyon to the list of Netflix series whose second seasons are opening significantly lower than the first ones this year.
The romantic drama starring Minka Kelly and Josh Duhamel logged 4.1 million views for its first week of release, down 43% from the Season 1 opening week, which collected 7.2 million views.
While this is an inauspicious return for a high-profile series headlined by big stars, the 43% slide matches that of Running Point and is better than the 63% decline for The Four Seasons, both of which have been renewed for a third season.
Other recent sophomore series that posted steep opening week viewership drops include Avatar: The Last Airbender (59%), Beef (nearly 60%), and A Good Girl’s Guide To Murder (more than 76%).
It is too early to say how Ransom Canyon‘s Season 2 debut performance would impact its renewal chances. Last year, the Texas drama was somewhat of a bubble show. It was eventually picked up for a second season with a smaller order (8 episodes vs. 10 for Season 1) and a storyline and supporting cast shakeup.
During Netflix’s earnings call earlier this month, co-CEO Ted Sarandos dismissed concerns over the slumping sophomore openers, calling it “very common in the industry,” and touted an year-to-year improvement.
“We are not seeing any material change in our second season viewing compared to season ones, our second seasons are performing well within our bands of expectation,” he said. “Very often we see drop off from season one to season two. It’s very common in the industry, but it’s even more so with us because we launch our shows so big.”
Added Sarandos, “When we look across the entire portfolio, across all the regions, all the content categories, our season two fall off is actually slightly improved this year relative to last year. Now, of course, you can pick any five data points to tell any story you want, but I’m going to repeat this: our season two fall off is actually slightly improved this year relative to last year.”
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