Ratings: Did ‘Mr. Robot’ rise for season 1 finale?

If you were to look at Twitter on Wednesday night, you’d get the sense that social-media was going absolutely bonkers over the presence of “Mr. Robot.” The sensational USA series starring Rami Malek and Christian Slater has been brilliant all summer, and it feels like it could get some serious awards consideration both later this year with the Golden Globes and then next summer when it is eligible for the Emmys.

However, we’ve come to learn many times over at this point that being popular with Twitter users is no indication of viewership, and the same goes for having critical acclaim. Despite last night’s crazy ending and positive response, the finale actually turned out one of the lower-rated performances of the season with a 0.5 in the 18-49 demographic and just over 1.2 million viewers. It shed about 100,000 viewers from when it last aired on August 19.

If you are looking for a culprit for the ratings drop, you don’t have to look any further than being off the air for a week. USA made the right move in delaying the finale, given the sensitivity of the moment following the on-air shooting in Virginia. This move did still result in the show not having “Suits” as a lead-in for the first time all season, and typically any show struggles to get the same audience after a short hiatus. The consistency that “Mr. Robot” still received is still in many ways an achievement.

The great thing for “Mr. Robot” is that it never really had to worry about its ratings at any point this entire season. The show had the luxury of an early renewal, and this gave fans the opportunity to sit back and become immersed in the story without concern over its future.