HBO's 'Leaving Neverland' Delivers Controversy, Big Ratings

HBO's Leaving Neverland was sure to cause a stir, given that it alleges long-term child sexual abuse perpetrated by the late pop star Michael Jackson, but it made a bigger splash, probably than was expected. This week's premiere airing of the two-part film attracted much more interest than HBO docs generally do. Read on for details.

Via The Hollywood Reporter.

HBO's documentary Leaving Neverland delivered a sizable audience over its two nights, with the first installment drawing one of the biggest tune-ins for an HBO doc in the past decade.

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Reposted from @anthonykingdancer - The documentary "Leaving Neverland" premieres tonight. I encourage everybody to watch it. If you feel that you don't want to watch it, then please reconsider, to acknowledge and support the victims. I am so proud of them and happy for them! Here are the broadcast times for USA, UK, France and Norway: - United States: HBO Sunday 3rd March and Monday 4th March - United Kingdon: Channel 4 Wednesday 6th March and Thurs 7th March - Norway: NRK TV on Sunday 10th March at 06:00, and NRK 2 at 22.50 - France: M6 Thursday 21st March 21 in the first half of the evening I want to say this to the people who defended, failed to condemn or excused Michael Jackson's behaviour: You degraded the victims of child abuse because you liked the way somebody danced and sang. This was not a passive action, you actively attempted to destroy their reputations because of your defence of somebody that you did not know. You are a selfish and a child abuse defender, in my opinion. I have screen captured every comment, every message, every excuse and every threat. Stay very far away from me. To the individuals who victim shamed and harassed, to the MJ Estate, to the people who had a duty of care to the children around this predator and to the people who turned a blind eye, to the people who remained silent, to his lying cheerleaders, to the people who have sent me death threats and abuse, to his defenders: SHAME ON YOU! Thank you for helping the cause of child welfare around the whole world. Thank you, Terry George, Michael Jacobshagen, Jordan Chandler and Garvin Arvizo. Thank you to the work of long gone "‘Desiree speaks so listen’" to "MJvictims", "MJfacts", Diane Dimond and Thomas W. Sneddon Jr and all the others. Read more on my Facebook and linked on my Twitter account anthonyking1 #LeavingNeverland #MichaelJackson - #regrann

A post shared by Leaving Neverland (@leavingneverlandofficial) on Mar 3, 2019 at 9:24am PST

The four-hour film, directed by Dan Reed, features two men, Wade Robson and James Safechuck, detailing a litany of sexual abuse allegations against late music icon Michael Jackson. (Jackson's estate and surviving family members have denied the allegations.) The doc is the subject of a $100 million lawsuit against HBO filed by Jackson's estate, claiming Leaving Neverland violates a non-disparagement clause in the contract for a 1992 Jackson concert film that aired on the pay cabler.

Part one of Leaving Neverland averaged 1.29 million viewers for its first airing on Sunday night, the third-largest audience for an HBO documentary this decade behind Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief (1.7 million) and Bright Lights: Starring Carrie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds (1.6 million).

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We will never mute Michael Jackson! This documentary is upsetting a lot of people including me. We need to stick together and help others learn the truth! I wrote this poem for Michael because we need to let him rest and that we should all spread love and compassion everywhere during this difficult time. Please share and spread this everywhere! We love you forever Michael! #stopleavingneverlandnow#muteoprah#smoothcriminal#mj#kingofpop#michaeljackson#like#follow#moonwalker#waderobson#jamessafechuck#liars#money#dance#music#pop#billiejean#bad#thriller#neverland#leavingneverland

A post shared by MJ Forever (@michaeljackson455) on Mar 3, 2019 at 11:34am PST

Monday night's conclusion brought in 927,000 viewers, giving the entire film an average of about 1.11 million viewers. The two-day average is also in the upper reaches for HBO documentaries in recent years.

Following the doc, the Oprah Winfrey-hosted special After Neverland — featuring interviews with Reed, Robson and Safechuck and an audience of sexual-abuse survivors and their families — drew 780,000 viewers on HBO (it was simulcast on OWN).

The initial audience for Leaving Neverland is several times larger than the typical tune-in for HBO documentaries. The last six docs to air on Monday nights on HBO, the outlet's usual featured spot for documentaries, have averaged about 187,000 viewers for their first airings.

Get the rest of the story at The Hollywood Reporter.

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