HBO's 'Girls' starts modest, 'Thrones' ratings steady

Critics can’t say enough about Lena Dunham’s provocative new HBO comedy Girls, but the show’s premiere ratings were somewhat modest.

Sunday night’s debut delivered 1.1 million viewers across two airings. That’s down from its lead-in, the Eastbound & Down (1.6 million) third-season finale. Still, Girls fared way better than the premiere of HBO’s last comedy, Enlightened, which launched on Monday. Still, that series still received a second-season order despite weaker reviews and lower ratings, so… expect a pickup unless numbers plummet. And I could see Girls growing in the ratings — last night it was coming out of two male-friendly shows.

Meanwhile, Game of Thrones (EW’s recap of ‘Thrones’ Sunday night episode here) was rock steady, matching last week’s 3.8 million viewers for its first airing for a total of 4.5 million across two runs.

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  By James Hibberd