Everyone’s favorite echidna has also become the platform’s most-watched kids-and-family title ever.
The Big Picture
-
Knuckles
becomes Paramount+’s most-watched children’s series ever, racking up 4 million hours viewed in one weekend. - The series boosts the
Sonic
franchise, increasing viewership for
Sonic the Hedgehog
and
Sonic the Hedgehog 2
by 278%. -
Knuckles
stars Idris Elba as the titular echidna and takes place between
Sonic the Hedgehog 2
and
Sonic the Hedgehog 3
.
Everyone’s favorite strong-armed Australian animal is soaring to new heights at Paramount+. The streaming service has announced that Knuckles, its new series based on the character of the same name from the Sonic the Hedgehog video games, has become the most-watched Paramount+ original series of all time over its premiere weekend. In addition, Knuckles also knocked it out of the park with families, becoming the streamer’s most-watched kids-and-family title ever.
Over its premiere weekend on April 26, in which the streamer dropped all six episodes of the show, Knuckles racked up more than 4 million hours viewed across Paramount+. This makes it far and away one of the most-watched series for Paramount+ over any weekend premiere, though the studio rarely releases this type of viewership data. It last did so with Lawmen: Bass Reeves, which garnered 7.5 million views over its first week, meaning Knuckles viewership in one weekend reached more than half of what Lawmen: Bass Reeves reached in one full week. The series also helped the entire Sonic franchise, with the other films on the platform, Sonic the Hedgehog and Sonic the Hedgehog 2, seeing a 278% average spike in viewership.
“The Sonic the Hedgehog fans came out in full-force,” said Jeff Grossman, the executive vice president of programming at Paramount+. “We’re so thrilled with the record-breaking performance of Knuckles and the incredible lift the whole Sonic universe has experienced following Knuckles‘ premiere.”
‘Knuckles’ Continues the ‘Sonic’ Story
Knuckles stars Idris Elba as the eponymous echidna and takes place between Sonic the Hedgehog 2 and the upcoming Sonic the Hedgehog 3. The series picks up after Knuckles vowed to protect the Master Emerald, which he fixed at the end of the last film. While taking care of business on Earth, Knuckles follows the echidna as he trains his apprentice, Wade Whipple (Adam Pally) while also being sought after by agents of Dr. Robotnik. In addition to Elba and Pally reprising their roles from Sonic the Hedgehog 2, Knuckles also includes guest starsStockard Channing, Edi Patterson, Scott Mescudi, Ellie Taylor, Julian Barratt, Rory McCann, Cary Elwes, Christopher Lloyd, Paul Scheer, and Rob Huebel.Ben Schwartz, the voice of Sonic from the films, also reprises his role in the series.
Knuckles is picking up steam just in time for Sonic the Hedgehog 3, which is slated to be released by Paramount on December 20, 2024. The series, which comes from Paramount Pictures and Sega of America, was created by John Whittington and Toby Ascher, with the latter serving as showrunner while Whittington serves as head writer. Jeff Fowler, who directed all three Sonic films, directed the first episode of Knuckles and executive produces alongside Neal H. Moritz for Original Film, Ascher, Whittington, Elba, Haruki Satomi, Shuji Utsumi, and Toru Nakahara.
All six episodes of Knuckles are streaming now on Paramount+.
Knuckles
Knuckles the Echidna teaches deputy Wade Whipple the techniques of the Echidna warrior.
- Release Date
- April 26, 2024
- Cast
- Idris Elba , Adam Pally , Jaimi Barbakoff , Alice Wren Tregonning , Tony Coughlan , Colleen O’Shaughnessey , Daniel Singh , Alfredo Tavares
This article was originally published on collider.com