Image: The Orville, Hulu
Stranger Things maintained its wide lead over its rivals at the top of the rankings for another week. While demand for the series has now been steadily declining (falling another 7% this week), Stranger Things still had 142.7 times more demand than the average series in the U.S. The difference in demand between Spongebob Squarepants and Stranger Things is still massive, with Spongebob having 70.5 times the average series demand in the U.S. for the week, almost half of the demand for Stranger Things.
Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul both maintained their positions in second and third place each with close to the same level of demand they had last week. However, while the former saw a 3% decline in demand, Better Call Saul saw a slight 2% increase in demand ahead of its penultimate episode, which aired on August 08. The air is abuzz with excitement for fantasy fans as the release date for Game of Thrones prequel, House of the Dragon grows ever closer. Demand for the original series reflects that, as we see demand for GOT climb a further 6% this week. There has been a lot of anticipation among viewers as they brush up their knowledge of the books and series ahead of the launch on August 21. As a result, we see demand for GOT increase to 57.4 times the demand of the average show in the United States for the week.
Demand for FOX’s The Simpsons saw a 7% increase this week with the announcement that the latest season (season 34) will premiere on September 25. More than the release date, what could likely have led to the uptick in demand was showrunner Matt Selman sharing that the new season will reveal how the show has managed to “predict the future”. There has definitely been a lot on interest among die-hard Simpson fans and casual viewers alike on the show’s uncanny ability to predict future events, so we’re certain that this season might just bring in a lot more demand than before for the series. As of this week, The Simpsons took ninth place on the chart with 41.7 times the average series demand.
Among streaming originals this week, the top three positions at the top of the rankings stayed the same, with demand for The Orville remaining steady unlike Stranger Things and the The Boys, both of which saw a drop in demand. While the latest season of The Orville began airing on June 02, it’s likely that the show saw a large increase in demand as a result of its finale airing on August 04 and the move to Hulu which was touted as an “improvement” for the show by Seth Macfarlane. Both of these factors see the show hold on to third place in the rankings with 35.1 times the average series demand.
Only Murders in the Building saw a 2% uptick in demand as the show inches close to its finale on August 23. With only two more episodes left to go, it is likely we will continue to see an increase in demand for the series as it wraps up its second season. As of this week, it took fourth place in the rankings with 33.1 times the average series demand, pushing Disney+’s The Mandalorian down to fifth place.
Demand for Titans grew another 8% this week taking the series up to sixth place in the rankings with 27.7 times the average series demand. As mentioned last week, uncertainty around the future of Titans and other HBO Max originals in the DC universe continues to drive a spike in interest in the DC universe shows. The string of cancellations including The Flash has put DC fans on edge as Warner Bros. Discovery continues their search for their Kevin Feige.
