The Yord Horde is here to stay and showed up for the premiere of Star Wars: The Acolyte.
The brand-new series' premiere reached 4.8 million views within its first day. According to Variety, this makes it the biggest premiere on Disney+ so far in 2024. Compared to the previous live-action series Ahsoka, The Acolyte outshone it. While the exact numbers for Ahsoka are unknown, Variety states "that it took five days to reach 14 million views. That comes out to an average of 2.8 million viewers per day — 2 million below the launch of The Acolyte."
This isn't much of a surprise with how Disney+ and Lucasfilm have been promoting the heck out of the show. Several factors are going for it too for this kind of success.
One of the biggest selling points of The Acolyte is the clean slate. It's the first live-action series set outside of the time of the Skywalker Saga films. It's a jumping in point for new fans who might want to try a different kind of Star Wars. Unlike series like Ahsoka, which was essentially Star Wars Rebels Season 5, fans don't have to do homework to know who the characters are, what came before it, where it falls in the canon timeline, etc. The Acolyte doesn't worry about the Skywalker Saga or Mandoverse canon.
The other factor is the success of The High Republic. This multimedia project provides the setting for The Acolyte, which takes place about 100 years before the events of The Phantom Menace. Most of the novels have made a splash on the New York Times Bestsellers list and even topped it in some cases. The High Republic fanbase is a passionate group that has championed The Acolyte from the moment it was announced.
The Acolyte has been a success so far with Disney+ along with critics. Check out our review for the first two episodes, and tune in each Tuesday for a new episode.