Part of the problem is that the classic detective hat (trilby?) Miller wears is similar to the redditor m’lady meme hat. People found it hard to take his character seriously because of that (particularly since he is initially introduced as a typical tryhard “cool” character). The show markets itself as a science fiction epic (which it is, eventually) but those first few episodes have a lot of Miller walking around in the hat doing typical slow burn noir detective stuff and people think that’s the entire show and lose interest.