‘Boardwalk Empire’ series finale: How did it perform in the ratings?

The final numbers are in now for the series finale of “Boardwalk Empire,” and it performed about as well as many thought, with numbers that were fairly close to the season 5 premiere.

Around 2.3 million viewers watched the final send-off for Steve Buscemi and the cast, which is an increase over the season 4 finale. The 18-49 demographic is really not that important for HBO, so it is meaningless unless you just want to compare it to shows airing on ad-supported networks. Overall, around three million people caught the show on the night when repeats were factored in.

There is a part of us that wanted to see the show end its run with a little more viewership in the tank, mostly because it is such an achievement for the network and for the cast. While we were critical at times of the show’s pace, there is no question from our vantage point that the show was a visual marvel and had some of the best performances in all of television.

In the end, we imagine that this is one of those shows that could live on for a long time and maybe get better with age, since subtlety is not always something that is appreciated in the present. Many HBO shows, most notably “The Wire,” tend to find a greatly amount of appreciation even years after they are over.

Now, the major mystery that remains will be seeing what Buscemi and most of the cast choose to do next. They will most-likely have other TV roles offered to them, but they will have to choose if they either want to go this route, or dive more into feature films.