Image: I Think You Should Leave with Tim Robinson, Netflix
The week of May 27 - June 02 brought quite a few changes to the overall ranking, with almost all shows seeing a change in their positions from last week. Spongebob Squarepants took back its position at the top of the ranking from The Flash after the latter had a considerable spike in demand after its finale on May 24. The animated show had a 5% spike in demand this week after its crossover special “SpongeBob SquarePants Presents The Tidal Zone” began streaming on Paramount+ a few days ago. The resulting increase put the show back on top with 88.6 times the average series demand, while The Flash had a 10% decrease which put it at 80.4 times the demand average.
HBO’s Game of Thrones had a 4% spike in demand this week after a recent interview with HBO’s Head of Drama, Francesca Orsi revealed that the possible Jon Snow spin-off was in early development but has not been officially greenlit yet. Orsi also gave fans more insight into process that HBO is currently following for all other Game of Thrones spin-offs, which seems to have reignited U.S. audience interest in the series - as of this week, it climbed up to take third place in the ranking, with 62.6 times more demand than the average series. Succession also had a comparable 5% increase in demand which may be the result of more viewers catching up to the series finale that aired on May 21; the resulting increase moved Succession up to fourth place in the ranking this week, with 62.2 times the average series demand.
South Park and The Simpsons both had a drop in demand this week, which saw both shows slide down the chart this week. The 4% drop placed South Park in fifth place, while The Simpsons slid to eighth with an 8% decline. It wasn’t a bleak scenario for all animated shows in the ranking this week though; PBS’s Sesame Street made a comeback in the ranking in ninth place with 50.6 times the average series demand, a 7% increase since last week. Rounding out the top ten overall ranking we see NBC’s Saturday Night Live in tenth place with a further 4% decline in demand which put it at 48.8 times the demand of the average series. It is impressive that the series has still managed to maintain its position in the top ten after the WGA strike (which has been going for over a month now) forced the network to start airing re-runs instead of new content.
As predicted last week, Apple TV+’s Ted Lasso took the top spot away from Stranger Things this week after the sports comedy aired its series finale on May 31 and had a 4% increase in demand. The show has been a critical hit for Apple TV+, and while it may have said good bye to its fans for now, there are some questions of a possible spin-off series as the finale set the stage for it in a few scenes. While it remains to be seen whether there will be more Ted Lasso content or not, as of this week it topped the U.S. streaming original ranking with 58.4 times the average series demand, pulling just ahead of Stranger Things, which had 58.3 times the demand average.
Prime Video’s The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel had a further 22% increase in demand this week, as more audiences and fans began catching up to the episodes and the series finale of the multiple award-winning show. The double digit increase saw it climb up the ranking to become the fifth most in-demand streaming original in the U.S. this week with 36.1 times the average series demand. A surprising double digit increase in demand for a perennially popular favorite was noted this week. Netflix’s The Witcher had a 17% increase in demand after a recent interview with the casting director Sophie Holland seemingly confirmed that Netflix may have already renewed the show for a fifth season. This came as a big surprise to many fans, given that season 3 is still a few weeks away from its premiere and that season 4 will be featuring the new lead, Liam Hemsworth as The Witcher. Audience interest in the series seems to have been reignited though, as we saw the show climb up to take sixth place in the ranking this week, with 32.4 times the average series demand.
Hulu’s The Orville saw another 7% spike in demand this week. As mentioned last week, while the show has not been officially renewed for a fourth season, actor Chad Coleman revealed in an interview that “promising meetings” had taken place and spoke on the importance of fan campaigns and their impact on renewals. Netflix’s sketch-comedy series I Think You Should Leave with Tim Robinson entered the ranking thanks to an impressive 58% increase this week. The show returned to screens after two years, and premiered its third season to strong audience demand on May 30. As of this week it took tenth place on the chart with 25.3 times the average series demand.
