The Mandalorian's season 2 premiere, while building upon its first season audience, was actually streamed less than The Boys on Amazon. The Mandalorian first premiered in November 2019, on the same day Disney+ launched. Even before it arrived, it was highly anticipated purely because it was the first live-action Star Wars show, but it soon won over fans both old and new. The series follows the titular bounty hunter Din Djarin (Pedro Pascal) as he travels the galaxy completing odd jobs. However, when he comes across a powerful Child (aka, Baby Yoda), Din's path forward changes.
Unsurprisingly, The Mandalorian was easily Disney+'s biggest original series upon its launch, and it's certainly holding that title going into season 2. The Mandalorian's sophomore run kicked off last Friday, with subsequent episodes arriving every Friday after. This time around, Din and Baby Yoda are still traversing the galaxy in search of a safe home for the latter, and it's expected they'll cross paths with some familiar faces from Star Wars lore. While the season 2 premiere offered a glimpse of Boba Fett (Temeura Morrison), Ahsoka Tano (Rosario Dawson) and Bo-Katan (Katee Sackoff) will pop up at some point as well.
The Mandalorian season 2 was certainly anticipated by fans, but it surprisingly wasn't the biggest streaming debut of the year. Reelgood, the U.S.' most extensive streaming guide, studied the streaming and viewership patterns of 2 million users to determine The Mandalorian's season 2 opening weekend audience. Overall, the series earned a 5.7% streaming share, which was higher than its season 1 premiere share (4.4%). However, The Mandalorian couldn't come close to Amazon's The Boys season 2 premiere, which notched an impressive 7.2% streaming share back in September.
The Mandalorian also came in just behind Stranger Things' season 3 debut from 2019, which had a 5.8% streaming share. This both confirms The Boys and Stranger Things' dominance as some of the biggest streaming shows out there and cements The Mandalorian as a success. While The Mandalorian didn't top either of those two shows, it grew between seasons 1 and 2, indicating its audience is both sticking around and expanding. Also interesting to note: Netflix's breakout miniseries The Queen's Gambit came very close to The Mandalorian season 1 with a streaming share of 4.3%.
Provided season 2's quality doesn't decline from its well-received premiere, The Mandalorian is in a position to build upon its already robust audience. Season 2 has likely benefitted from the positive word of mouth that emerged after season 1, as well as the ever-powerful Baby Yoda. While it's not quite the same as concrete numbers (which are rarely revealed when it comes to streaming programs), it's certainly interesting to get some stats about The Mandalorian's performance.
The Mandalorian season 2 continues on Friday on Disney+.
Source: Reelgood