HBO Chief Responds To True Detective Hate

True Detective season two continues its run on HBO.  And it is being fairly divisive as far as viewership is concerned.  After somewhat positive early critic reviews, fan reaction has been less receptive.

Yesterday, programming president Michael Lombardo was quizzed on his thoughts about the reaction. Lombardo says that he didn’t expect the first or second season to draw such a big audience, and that the new season’s numbers have climbed to an average 12 million viewers per episode this season – up one million on last year.

Talking about the quality of the show itself, he tells E! Online and THR:

“I think the show works. First of all, I think you need to watch the entirety of it. I have and I think it’s enormously satisfying…

I think Nic is a very – adventurous is not the right word – he’s a bold storyteller. I mean that only in the most positive of ways. I think he takes risks in how he lays out a story, in the pacing of stories and I think it pays off in this particular season.

[He] is one of the best writers working in television and motion pictures today. I think he takes a big swing. I think the show ends with as satisfying an end as any show I’ve seen.”