The lockdown conditions of the Covid-19 pandemic have increased the amount of time and opportunities viewers have to consume content. As we’ve pointed out in our comprehensive report on the impacts of Covid-19, this has led to an increase in demand for older series. This is likely driven by several factors – More time to view series where there was not an opportunity before, a desire to return to familiar favorites, and the benefit of ended series having a large and complete library of episodes to binge through.
Here we take a deeper look at what popular finished series (ended before 2016) are driving this trend.
Community saw the greatest year on year growth this April, fuelled by it’s availability on Netflix at the start of the month. Parks and Recreation saw an end of the month surge driven by the announcement of a special quarantine reunion episode in May. Meaty dramas generally saw a larger increase than beloved sitcoms. Series like Lost, Mad Men, The Wire, and The West Wing all saw greater than 50% increases on their April 2019 demand.
