AMC’s zombie drama The Walking Dead is America’s most demanded series this week. Rising in demand for a third week in a row, it is now more in demand than last week’s no. 1, Nickelodeon’s Spongebob Squarepants. Season 10 of The Walking Dead is currently airing weekly, but US fans had another reason to be discussing the show this week. AMC announced that due to COVID-19, production on S10 halted before the finale could be completed. This means an unexpected cliffhanger as fans now must wait for the season finale past the planned early April air date.
A returning series to the chart this week is NBC’s The Office. TV content analytics shows that the evergreen sitcom has emerged as one of the streaming series of choice for people sheltering at home due to the pandemic. With ever more parts of the USA going into lockdown, demand for The Office has risen 9.7% from last week.
Cartoon Network’s Steven Universe is this week’s biggest riser, gaining 24.3% more demand than last week. This comes after the final episode of the show’s last season, subtitled Steven Universe: Future, aired on March 27th. The cartoon, lauded throughout its run for its thoughtful approach to queer representation, ended strong with generally highly positive reviews from both critics and fans.
In the digital original top ten this week, Netflix’s Stranger Things remains as the most demanded series. Along with all other Netflix originals, production on the sci-fi show has been suspended due to COVID-19. In an interview this week, star David Harbour revealed that the Season 4 release was planned for early 2021, but this is “likely to be pushed back.”
Demand for Disney +’s The Mandalorian grew by 6.3% from last week, making it the second most demanded digital original in the USA. This was enough demand for a reappearance on the overall top ten, where The Mandalorian places tenth. This rise is likely driven by news that Hollywood actress Rosario Dawson has been confirmed for a role in Season 2.
The show with the largest week-on-week rise in the digital original charts is CBS All Access’ Star Trek: Picard. Our TV content analytics shows that the sci-fi series gained 15.2% more demand and three places compared to last week. One reason for this increase is that in a move announced by series star Patrick Stewart on Twitter, CBS has given free access to the series to all Americans.
Image Credit: The Office, NBC
