All’s Fair Renewed For Season 2 Despite Low Ratings: The Real Reason
Against all odds, Hulu has handed Ryan Murphy’s All’s Fair a Season 2 renewal—despite a 0 percent Rotten Tomatoes debut, a crawl to just 3 percent, and blistering takedowns labeling it the worst TV of the year.
Hulu just renewed Ryan Murphy's All's Fair for Season 2, and if you are confused by that, you are not alone. This is the same show that debuted with a perfect zero on Rotten Tomatoes (it has crawled up to 3%) and got roasted as some of the worst TV of the year. Yet Hulu pulled the trigger on a renewal three weeks after the premiere. Why? Two words: people watched.
The numbers tell the story
Critics lit it up, but the audience did not bail. In fact, it did the opposite. All's Fair grabbed 3.2 million views worldwide in its first three days (via The Wrap) and hit number one on Hulu's internal chart. It also turned into a social traffic machine, which, bluntly, is what streamers care about right now.
- Rotten Tomatoes critics score: 3%
- Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 66%
- Global views in first 3 days: 3.2 million (via The Wrap)
- US hours viewed in Week 1: 2.61 million (via Deadline)
- Social media impressions: 7 billion+
- Hulu rank: #1 on the service's viewership chart
- Renewal timing: 3 weeks after the premiere
The Kim Kardashian effect
Kim Kardashian is the engine here. The show caught fire online fast: some viewers embraced the camp, others tuned in to hate-watch, and a lot of people simply wanted to see what Kim would do in a lead role. She did not hide from the bad press either. She actually posted the embarrassing Rotten Tomatoes score to Instagram and poked fun at it.
She joked on Instagram that it was basically 'the most critically acclaimed show of the year.'
The result: a ton of chatter (7 billion+ impressions) and a clear signal that Kim moves the needle on streaming. That is tough for any platform to ignore.
Murphy's long game
There is also some industry context worth knowing. Murphy's connection to the Kardashians goes back to a reality show idea he pitched to Kim and Kris Jenner that never happened (per The Hollywood Reporter). Instead of walking away, he put Kim in American Horror Story: Delicate, where she outperformed a lot of expectations. With All's Fair, it feels like he is doubling down, maybe even shaping her into a go-to collaborator the way he did with Lady Gaga, who made the leap from pop icon to Oscar winner under his umbrella.
Critics vs audiences, Murphy vs gravity
This gap is not new. Murphy has a habit of turning lightning rods into franchises. American Horror Story became FX's most successful series, running for more than a decade with 13 seasons and counting. All's Fair is clearly aiming for that lane: a splashy, polarizing, high-attention show that builds momentum on conversation as much as consensus. Betting on Kim plus Murphy's track record is not crazy if you are Hulu and you like big, buzzy titles.
Where to watch
All's Fair is streaming on Hulu in the US and on Disney+ internationally. New episodes drop every Tuesday through December 9, 2025.