Even with years of SNL under his belt, as well as a popular Netflix series (I Think You Should Leave) and the wonderfully cringe-worthy 2025 movie release Friendship, Tim Robinson still seems like the kind of comedy star who will forever remain just under the radar, because not even the radar is capable of easily handling his awkward performances. But my perspective might be completely off, as Robinson’s HBO series The Chair Company has reached peak popularity ahead of its first season’s wind down.
Specifically, The Chair Company has apparently reached the point where, after five of its eight episodes had aired (and streamed via HBO Max subscription), it now holds the honor of being HBO’s top freshman comedy in platform history, with both linear and streaming data included. That’s downright bonkers, even when considering HBO’s comedies never match the gargantuan viewership heights that past dramas like Game of Thrones and its spinoff House of the Dragon have earned.
According to the latest numbers from Nielsen and Warner Bros. Discovery, per TheWrap, The Chair Company is currently averaging upwards around 3 million viewers per episode accounting for both HBO and HBO Max. Not too shabby for a show that features the largest number of characters I’d never want to ever be stuck in an elevator with. That means you, too, Douglas.
Episode 5, which took viewers into Mike’s apartment and was as uncomfortable as a Requiem for a Dream rewatch, reportedly brought in 1.3 million viewers, which doesn’t completely account for delayed totals. Which means 1.3 million people all watched that bar patron with the massive forehead dent aggressively jab his elbow into soup, all to intimidate Ron. I can’t say I’ve had even a dozen people watch me dip my elbow in soup.
The series premiere of the conspiratorial comedy thriller brought in between 1.3 and 1.4 million viewers, so the show has remained about as consistent as a show can get in this day and age. Not too shabby for a show where one arc centers on a baffling HR situation after Ron accidentally saw up a coworker's skirt, or one that's featured an a-yet-unexplainable giant red ball.
Check out a selection of the other HBO and HBO Max comedy series from the past five years that The Chair Company can look down on from up high.
- It's Florida, Man
- The Rehearsal
- The Franchise
- Fantasmas
- Rain Dogs
- Hacks
- Bookie
- Our Flag Means Death
- The Sex Lives of College Girls
- Made For Love
How HBO's Other Sunday Night Originals Are Doing In The Ratings
Speaking of other original comedies, The Chair Company's current schedule-follower I Love LA isn't doing quite as well, but Rachel Sennott's sexually charged Zillenial comedy's second episode enjoyed a boost from its premiere, going from 920,000 up to around 1.03 million viewers. So far this season, it's averaging around 1.4 million pairs of eyeballs with delayed-viewing stats in the mix.
Meanwhile, the mythology-expanding horror IT: Welcome to Derry started off strongly, with 5.7 million viewers making it the third most-watched premiere ever in the HBO Max era. (Only The Last of Us and House of the Dragon bested it.) Derry's easter egg-filled third episode dipped slightly from that peak down to around 5 million linear and streaming viewers with Live + 3 Day added in.
It's clear that the Stephen King-inspired monster fest is the big cable winner on Sunday nights, though, as its currently on pace to close out as one of the 3 most-watched freshman series for HBO Max on a global scale. It's pulling in an average of just under 15 million viewers across the planet, with 9.2 million of those coming from the U.S.
Let's turn The Chair Company into the biggest cable comedy debut of 2025 and beyond, people! Tell everyone you know to watch on Sunday nights at 10:00 p.m., or you'll find a way to sabotage all the chairs in their houses.
