The 'Gilded Age’ Sees Modest Growth in Season 3 Premiere;

 

The 'Gilded Age’ Sees Modest Growth in Season 3 Premiere; NBA Finals Game 7 Scores Big

The Season 3 premiere of The Gilded Age drew 472,000 U.S. households during its initial live-plus-same-day (L+0D) window across HBO and Max, according to new viewership data — a modest 1 percent increase over the Season 2 debut, but still trailing its original launch.

By comparison, Season 2’s first episode drew 469,000 households during the same window. Season 1, which introduced Julian Fellowes’s lavish period drama to American audiences, opened stronger with 498,000 households, placing the Season 3 premiere down roughly 5 percent from its inaugural debut.

The audience for the new season skewed older: households with adults aged 65 to 74 over-indexed by 54 percent, underscoring the show’s continued appeal among Boomer viewers who favor historical dramas and traditional television viewing habits.

Meanwhile, Sunday night’s Game 7 of the 2025 NBA Finals proved to be a ratings slam dunk.

A total of 10.3 million U.S. households tuned into the championship game on ABC, marking a 9 percent increase over the 9.4 million households that watched the 2024 series finale. The game also edged past 2023’s final matchup, which drew 10.2 million households.

Among the nation’s largest television markets, Minneapolis led all DMAs, over-indexing by 35 percent. San Francisco and Cleveland followed closely, over-indexing by 34 and 33 percent, respectively.

While the NBA continues to dominate live event television, The Gilded Age maintains a steady, if subdued, hold on its niche audience—showing that even in an era of peak TV and streaming fatigue, there remains room for ornate gowns, drawing-room intrigue, and generational power plays.