Newly released viewership data suggests that The Acolyte was more successful than previous reports claimed, calling its cancellation into question. After the Star Wars prequel series was dropped by Disney+, Luminate Data published metrics indicating that the show’s viewers had dropped off consistently after its premiere, which would explain its cancellation despite the widespread praise for The Acolyte on social media. However, new third party data from Parrot Analytics took a more comprehensive look at the show’s reception over time, with very different results. Since it was published this weekend, fans are wondering if there might still be hope for the show to be revived.
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The Acolyte is the first Star Wars series to be canceled in the Disney+ era. It broke fans’ hearts at the time, and many questioned whether it was an objective decision, or if it might have been influenced by a review-bombing campaign and racist commentary on social media. Parrot’s new data — publicized this weekend by The Hollywood Reporter — brought these kinds of questions back to the forefront.
The new report accounts for viewership on Disney+ itself, as well as activity on other platforms online including search engines, social media, wikis, and forums. All of this contributed to an overall metric labeled “demand,” and found that The Acolyte was the second-most trending series on Disney+ in the first week of this month. That’s a remarkable amount of staying power considering that the show premiered in June of 2024, and was canceled in August.
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“This level of demand places The Acolyte in an elite category, illustrating the show’s potential not just for viewership but also for valuable insights that can inform content decisions, acquisitions, and distribution strategies,” the report reads. It also mentions that the overall “demand” for and interest in The Acolyte has begun to drop, but it’s still higher than expected all these months after its debut.
Parrot’s insights add credence to the argument that The Acolyte‘s cancellation was unduly influenced by the response of a vocal minority. Despite what a few critics with large platforms may have said, the show generated a lot of interest among general audiences. The online review-bombing issue played a part as well, and it’s still hard to tell how the show was really received on the usual aggregators.
Fans may take some hope from this report, but there’s still nothing concrete behind it. The Acolyte is officially canceled, and Disney has given no hints that it will be revived. You can stream the first and only season now on Disney+.
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