In this weekly data series powered by Parrot Analytics we look at the top breakout shows of the past week. Breakout shows are the most in-demand series that have premiered in the past 100 days.
This week, Hulu’s “Pam & Tommy” surged up the ranking with its first full week of data. Last week, it had enough demand to rank as the 10th biggest breakout show but it jumped into second place with 32.9 times the average series demand, according to Parrot Analytics data.
The three Amazon Prime Video originals in the top 10 ranking this week are a case study in experimenting with different release strategies. “Reacher,” the thriller based on the Jack Reacher book series premiered on Feb. 4. This week, it had 26.7 times the average series demand, making it the fourth most in-demand new series for the week. All of its episodes were released at once.
That’s both good and bad when it comes to demand. A full-season drop can make for a highly in-demand premiere, but makes a show less likely to stay in demand as audiences can burn through episodes more quickly and move on.
“The Legend of Vox Machina” went with a mixed approach to releasing episodes, dropping three episodes each week for a month. This approach seems to be working well so far. Its demand grew 14% from last week. At the other end of the spectrum is “The Wheel of Time,” which initially released three episodes when it premiered but then only dropped a single episode each week, stretching demand for the series out over a longer period of time.
The three breakout series with the highest demand this week all release their episodes on a weekly schedule. Disney+’s “The Book of Boba Fett” had its finale last Wednesday. This show has masterfully leveraged tie-ins to the larger “Star Wars” franchise to grow its demand over the course of its first season. HBO Max’s “Peacemaker” ranked No. 3 with 31.8 times the average series demand for the week, grew its demand by 7% this week.
Yet, demand for Netflix’s “All of Us Are Dead” is fading fast. While the series was a breakout hit last week when it became the fourth most in-demand new series, this week it has already dropped to seventh place. Contrast this with the staying power of “Squid Game,” which stayed in the top 10 ranking for months.
See this week’s ranking of most in-demand shows in the chart below.
