The first episode scored a 0.24 in the valuable 18-49 demographic and was watched by 0.83 million people in the Live+Same day tallies, and the second episode was bumped up to a 0.28 in the demo and 0.84 million viewers, for respective boosts of 16.67% and 1.08%.
The Deuce actually improved in both ratings and viewership from the first episode to the second episode.
The renewal comes as something of a surprise, as the show only debuted on HBO on September 10, although the premiere was available to stream early back in August.
Only two episodes have aired so far, and the early numbers bode well for the rest of the season.