Image: The Handmaid’s Tale, Hulu
In this week US top ten chart, Netflix’s Stranger Things is once again the title with the most TV series demand. However, demand for the sci-fi drama is also down again week on week by 9.0%. Demand is now down in total by around 50% from the show’s all-at-once S3 release on July 4th. The fact that Stranger Things remains No. 1 after this decrease is a testament to just how huge of an event the digital original’s S3 release was for US audiences.
The demand decline is present for the other all-at-once releases in the overall chart, like last week’s number 2 show Orange Is The New Black. The Netflix prison drama is down 32.4% in TV series demand and has lost 5 places week on week. This steep decline from the release peak is a normal pattern compared to episodic release schedules, which generally maintain their demand across the length of a season airing.
Amazon Prime Video’s The Boys also declined in demand by 10.3% from last week, but remains steady in 5th place overall. Showrunner Eric Kripke helped boost demand for The Boys by tweeting out the first details from the currently in-production S2.
The Boys should beware though: chart staple The Flash is coming for its usual position as America’s most in demand superhero series. The Flash is up 8.0% from last week and is now only one place behind The Boys in 6th. The CW continues to release small details about the show each week to stoke anticipation for the upcoming S6.
There are minimal changes in the digital original chart, with the same ten titles as last week being the most demanded by US audiences.
Hulu’s The Handmaid’s Tale is this week’s biggest climber, rising 2 places to 4th. The 5.6% demand increase is due to the finale of S3, which was released on August 14th. The dystopian drama has already been renewed for another season.
In the opposite direction, the biggest fall is for Netflix’s Money Heist. The crime drama moved from 7th to 10th with 14.7% less TV series demand than last week. Although Money Heist is not as popular in the US as it is in its home market of Spain, where it currently sits as the second most in demand overall title, the show has picked up a sizable fanbase in the USA. Money Heist’s most recent release was Part 3 a month ago on July 19th and at that time it peaked at 3rd on the digital original chart and 13th on the overall chart. Even a month later, Money Heist remains in the top ten over titles produced specifically for the American market.
This is an impressive achievement for a non-English title and proof that Netflix’s international content model can work in both directions.
