Syfy recently premiered a gripping new supernatural horror noir that’s based on a popular comic series of the same name. The show follows a small Wisconsin town in the aftermath of “Revival Day,” a shocking day in which the recently deceased suddenly came back to life–not as zombies but as themselves, with looks, memories, and personalities intact.
Here’s what you need to know about Revival:
Vault AI uses index scores to describe the impact a given story/theme/element will have on specific KPIs:
≤79 Disappointing 80-89 Challenging 90-109 Average 110-119 Promising 120+ Outstanding
Who’s tuning in for this intriguing new series?
We’re seeing an audience that’s mostly women (60%) and heavily aged 35+ (90%)–a profile right in line with other linear series about mysterious supernatural happenings in a small town. Shows like The Returned, The Leftovers, Manifest, Wayward Pines, Grimm, and Haven all hit a similar viewership sweet spot (56-65% women / 89-94% aged 35+).
What’s Revival’s biggest draw?
Its unique spin on Solving A Murder (146). After the dead awaken (Afterlife, 125), small town police officer Dana Cypress (Female Professional, 127) must figure out who killed her younger sister, a “reviver” who has no memory of her own demise. Working with a CDC lab contact to analyze the supernatural evidence (Scientific Method, 125), Dana contends with Murder Suspects (131) both living and undead to uncover what happened and how it might be related to the miraculous “Revival Day.” The show leverages its high-concept set-up to infuse a procedural framework with fresh new layers, inject a sense of the macabre (Death Theme, 130), and bring its original source material to life (Based on a Book, 137), keeping audience glued to their seats and driving both bingeability and longevity.
Why else are viewers tuning in?
For its unsettling slice of Small Town Life (122). Revival’s isolated setting makes the Mysterious Event (117) at its center that much more unnerving, amplifying the unease of its 4,500 residents as they’re forcibly blockaded from the rest of the world by the CDC. The show’s exploration of the widespread paranoia as well as its focus on Dana’s maladjusted personal life (snarky and resentful, she’s desperate to escape while trying her best as a Single Parent (122)) are helping to boost ratings.
How is the show’s social buzz?
Really good. The pilot’s premiere on June 12 spurred significant online activity, maxing out our social buzz meter (at 160) for several days. Though chatter dipped a bit in the week between new episodes–a common occurrence for series on a weekly rollout schedule–it nevertheless remained in “promising” range (at 118) before spiking right back up into “outstanding” territory (at 149) with episode two. This pattern suggests a promising hold for the rest of the show’s first season.
What’s appealing to Canadian audiences?
Dark humor in a small town. Filmed entirely in New Brunswick, Syfy’s Revival is airing simultaneously across the border on CTV Sci-Fi, and Canadian audiences are being pulled in by different elements than their American counterparts. In particular, the show’s Twisted Humor (116 CA) carries much more weight here, especially as it relates to quirky Small Town Life (120 CA) and Dana’s misadventures as a Single Parent (120 CA). At the same time, the whodunnit investigation at the heart of the story (Solving a Murder, 80 CA; Murder Suspect, 93 CA; Scientific Method, 103 CA) is much less compelling.
—
Redefine your understanding of TV subgenres
Introducing Genre DNA™ – TV subgenres redefined by groundbreaking AI analysis to reveal the true drivers of viewership.
See the insights that others can’t
Genre DNA™ goes beyond traditional TV genre classifications by analyzing over 1,000 scripted and unscripted series on both linear and SVOD platforms from the last 5 years.
Each Vault Genre DNA™ report offers a precise analysis of your chosen TV subgenre, uncovering its unique drivers of viewership.
*Publicly released trailers for series are evaluated using Vault’s algorithms – utilizing our proprietary 120K+ story element database alongside viewership performance and other datasets – to identify unique combinations of stories, themes, characters, and genre elements that will drive success.