David Fincher's Underrated Sci-Fi Anthology Show Returns With Underwhelming Numbers Despite 100% RT Score

David Fincher has been behind multiple successful projects, including 1995's Seven and 1999's Fight Club. In 2019, he joined forces with Deadpool director Tim Miller for a Netflix reboot of the 1981 animated science fiction film Heavy Metal titled Love, Death & Robots.

The adult animated anthology has received acclaim from the critics, but it generally fell under the radar of the audience. As the series has just added a new season, subtitled "Volume IV," the show had a major difference in the reviews received from the critics and the audience. The highly underrated sci-fi show also didn't impress with its viewership numbers, as Tudumreveals Love, Death & Robots: Volume 4 debuted in seventh place on the Top 10.

The new season premiered on May 15 after a three-year break, as the previous entry had premiered on May 20, 2022. For the week between May 12 and 18, Love, Death & Robots: Volume IV debuted with only 2.9 million views and 5.9 million hours viewed. The show entered the Top 10 in 24 countries.

The new season fell behind the documentary American Manhunt: Osama bin Laden, Fred and Rose West: A British Horror Story, Forever Season 1, The Four Seasons Season 1, Bad Thoughts Season 1, and You Season 5.

Teasing Season 4, creator Tim Miller detailed, "I try to get a mix of horror, sci-fi, and fantasy," he told Tudum. "And we work with some really f—king fantastic writers and artists."

Miller told Netflix, "One of my biggest joys in making LDR — and I think David shares this feeling — is when artists or directors make choices you would never make. Their ideas, shot choices, angles, sense of timing — whatever — is something foreign to your visual language but also awesome!”

Love, Death & Robots Has Been a Hit With the Critics

The anthology has generally received positive reviews from critics since its release, and it boasts an overall score of 89% from critics and a lower 74% from the audience. The new season is no different, as it continues with the same perfect score as Season 3.

However, Love, Death & Robots Season 4 divided the audience and the critics. While critics gave the new season 100%, the subscribers disagreed, and the new season debuted with an abysmal average of 39%. It has since improved to 48%, which is still negative. The new audience score is a stark difference from the previous installment. Season 3 had a 100% score from the critics and an equally thrilling 86% from the audience.

The viewership numbers are also different. In 2022, Season 3 had only 2 days to impress in the charts, and had 14.2 million hours viewed, almost three times as much as the new season. The following week, it had added 15.3 million hours viewed.

Love, Death & Robots is streaming on Netflix.