Image: Rick and Morty, Adult Swim
This week, June 6 - 12, Spongebob Squarepants remained the most in-demand show in the US. It had 69.3 times more in-demand than the average series for the week. This was a 6% decline from its demand last week. The drop in demand for the show, which is normally stable near the top of the ranking, comes following a surge in interest for the series following the release of a trailer for the spinoff series, The Patrick Star Show.
The top four most in-demand overall series each held onto their rank from last week. Most surprising of these is Saturday Night Live. The show concluded its 46th season on May 22. Usually interest in this show is driven by new hosts and musical guests, or topical skits about current events. The fact that demand for the show has not cratered with no new episodes is a testament to the enormous popularity of this show with US audiences.
Demand for the animated comedy, Rick and Morty, is up by 28% this week, making it the 7th most in-demand show in the US. This comes ahead of its season 5 release scheduled for June 20. Perhaps helping to fan the flames of demand for this series this week, the showrunner for Loki discussed in an interview how the series was inspired in part by Rick and Morty and the time he spent on that show.
The Flash was 40.2 times more in-demand than the average series this week. This is up 10% from its demand last week. This bump in demand follows this week’s episode which was the last for the character Cisco Ramon, who has been part of the long-running series since it premiered.
The show rising most in demand this week was Disney+’s Loki. The long-awaited next chapter in the Marvel universe was 27.4 times more in-demand than the average series this week, which is a 71% increase in its demand last week prior to its release. While a few more weeks of data will be necessary before making a determination, the show is so far on par with the other Marvel shows Disney+ has released this year and has potential to be the best Disney+ Marvel premiere to date.
Despite concluding more than 3 months ago, demand for WandaVision rose by 13% this week. The show also rose two spots in the digital original ranking to be the 5th most in-demand show for the week. A number of factors helped drive this week’s result. Elizabeth Olsen announced there were no plans for another season the show; Loki made a reference to the events that happened in Wandavision; and it was revealed that Monica Rambeau, introduced in WandaVision, will reappear in the upcoming film, The Marvels.
