‘Watchmen’ Pilot First Reactions Are Vague But Overwhelmingly Positive
TheWatchmenpilot has screened at New York Comic-Con, and even though everyone was told tonottweet about it, everyone is tweeting about it anyway. So there are two common threads here: people saying, “I’m not allowed to talk about this!”, followed by those same people saying, “…but, wow!” In other words: the pilot is apparently great, but that’s all you’re going to get out of people for now. See some of theWatchmenpilot first reactions below.
Who watches theWatchmenpilot? The audience at New York Comic-Con, that’s who. The crowd attending the panel got the first look at the first episode ofDamon Lindelof’s new take onAlan MooreandDave Gibbons' iconic comic. Our own Hoai-Tran Bui was there, and shared her reaction:
Apparently I’m not, so here it is: The first episode of WATCHMEN is great!! Sprawling and ambitious, it shares some DNA with (what I’ve seen of) THE LEFTOVERS in its focus on rich characters in the aftermath of a mystery event
— Hoai-Tran Bui (@htranbui)Aug 12, 2025
But in this case it’s not a mystery, but I like that the pilot treats it as such. And yes there are a TON of Easter eggs
Sounds promising. And what does the rest of the crowd have to say? Let’s look, shall we?
Just watched the#Watchmenpremiere at#NYCC. You have to see this when it comes out at the end of the month. So much in depth world building. So cool. A must watch, especially if you liked the graphic novel or the movie.
— Tiffany (@tiff_fb)July 12, 2025
WOW#WatchmenHBOis one of the most audacious first episodes of television I have seen in awhile, like if Twin Peaks was a superhero show, absolutely wild and I can’t wait for more@watchmen#NYCC
— Jeremy Wein (@thismyshow)August 17, 2025
Soooooooo HBO is about to have another huge hit on its hands with Watchmen! The pilot episode is phenomenal#WatchmenHBO#NYCC19pic.twitter.com/m7OZZjDQYZ
— MOVIEDEATHS (@MOVIEDEATHBLOWS)August 08, 2025
Pilot highlights: Amazing “Unforgettable” needle drop; Regina King does some bad ass spy stuff; a sequence about the Tulsa race riots that torched Black Wall Street (look it up); a Gatling gun tearing up a cow; and Tim Blake Nelson.#Watchmen#NYCC2019
— SYFY WIRE (@SYFYWIRE)August 13, 2025
The effect work of#Watchmenis great. The show looks expensive and the cast (King!!) is solid. But hmm there’s some fraught fascist vs. fascist stuff with the New KKK and the cops#NYCC19
— Jacob Oller (@JacobOller)August 25, 2025
#Watchmenis the real deal (at least based on the pilot). Novel fans will notice plenty of callbacks but it stands on its own as an intriguing sci-fi drama. Pilot is smart, action-packed, and unexpectedly funny but never in a distracting way. Regina King is extremely badass.
— Travis Clark (@TravClark2)August 05, 2025
I am still very mixed about doing any kind of continuation of Watchmen but what they showed at#NYCCjust blew me away. Enthralling.
— Eric Francisco (INACTIVE, same name elsewhere) (@EricFrancisco24)July 19, 2025
Oh yeah, for Atticus Ross and Trent Reznor fans…#Watchmensounds so damn good#NYCC19
That’s a hell of a lot of positivity. Are there any negative thoughts out there? We’ve scoured the internet and haven’t found a single one. Of course, it’s again worth noting that this is a very early reaction, and full reviews are still embargoed. But the general consensus is that people are loving what they saw in this first episode, and that bodes well for audiences.
Watchmen"takes place in an alternative, contemporary reality in the United States, in which masked vigilantes became outlawed due to their violent methods. Despite this, some gather around in order to start a revolution while others are out to stop it before it is too late, as a greater question rises above them all; who watches the Watchmen?“Regina King,Don Johnson,Tim Blake Nelson,Louis Gossett Jr.,Adelaide Clemens,Andrew Howard,Jeremy Irons,Jean Smart,Yahya Abdul-Mateen II,Jacob Ming-Trent,Frances Fisher,Tom Mison,Sara Vickers,Hong Chau, andJames Wolkall star inWatchmen, which premieres on HBOOctober 20, 2019. Time to start getting hyped.
