‘Halt and Catch Fire’ season 3: Where do ratings stand entering Tuesday’s finale?

The third season of “Halt and Catch Fire” on AMC is going to be coming to a close on Tuesday night as a two-hour event, and going into that, there are understandably questions as to whether or not you could be saying the same thing about the series as a whole. While it may brilliant, smart, touching, and historically accurate, there is something for whatever reason that keeps it from getting the viewership it deserves. Maybe it’s the name, the timeslot, or beyond Lee Pace a relatively under-the-radar cast. Sometimes, it’s hard to pinpoint any one reason, but we know that the quality is there.

One other thing that we do know is that while the show’s ratings may be small, the fan base is extremely loyal. We’ve compiled some data from the season so far for evidence.

Adults 18-49 (the demo that tends to matter the most for advertisers) – While the show may be down over 20% in the measure from season 2, it has hovered at around the same spot for almost the entirety of the season so far: A 0.1 rating. It scored a 0.2 for the premiere, but since that time never wavered. This should show AMC that while the numbers may not be great, they can at least be confident that they won’t move too much for a season 4.

Total viewers – Year-to-year, this is probably the figure that is more damning, given that the show is down over 33% in this measure versus last year. (Note: We’re talking only in terms of live+same day ratings.) The show is averaging around 340,000 viewers, but this past episode (which featured a stunning character death) drew close to 370,000 eyeballs — the best rating since the end of August. To think, that was when the show was up against the Vice-Presidential Debate.

We’re not sure if specific ratings move the needle much for AMC unless they are huge fluctuations, but we will keep track moving into the upcoming finale.