NEW YORK  — HBO said 2.9 million people watched or streamed the series finale of “Succession” on Sunday night, a series record that is expected to grow as delayed viewing is taken into account.

That beat the first-night record of 2.75 million for an episode that aired on April 30, earlier in the fourth and last season of the family drama about a media company.

The audience can be expected to expand significantly when delayed viewing is taken into account. For example, “Succession” episodes this season have been seen by an average of 8.7 million viewers, according to the Nielsen company.

The series finale provided an answer to the question central to the story, about whether any of media magnate Logan Roy’s children would inherit control over his media empire.

“Succession” didn’t approach HBO’s record of 19.8 million people who watched the 2019 finale of “Game of Thrones” on its premiere night. HBO estimated that some 46 million people have watched that episode when delayed viewing is taken into account.

But, Emmy-winning show permeated the discussion around the debt limit in Washington on Sunday when a deal was reached just hours before the finale aired. A White House official ended a call with reporters by telling them to “enjoy Succession.”

HBO said that “Barry,” its series starring Bill Hader, had 700,000 viewers on the night of its finale this past week. Episodes have been average 3.4 million viewers this season.

Conclusions to hit TV series can be hit-or-miss. The bloody 2013 ending of Walter White’s story on “Breaking Bad,” and Don Draper’s more zen ending on “Mad Men” in 2015 generally satisfied finicky fans. The 2019 conclusion of “Game of Thrones” — the last big finish for an HBO show — generally did not. Endings are hard to pull off, and disappointment tends to be the norm, to which the makers of “Seinfeld” and “Lost” can attest.