Month: September 2025

Who’s been tuning in for this intense new drama? 
We’re seeing an audience that skews toward men (56%) and those 35+ (92% on linear HBO)–a not-atypical viewership profile for male-fronted gritty crime thrillers on HBO. Shows like We Own This City, The Penguin, and the first season of True Detective had a similar bent. The showrunner’s own Mare of Easttown, however, leaned much more toward women (57%), likely because of its strong female lead.

What’s the show’s main pull? 
Parallel group dynamics. Task follows both a crew of violent drug den robbers, led by optimistic everyman Robbie, and the cross-agency task force assigned to bring them down, headed by haunted FBI agent Tom. The complex interplay within the teams, heightened by the compellingly unique personalities on each (Team Dynamics, 129), make up the show’s #1 ratings driver, with both sides balancing out the yin to the other’s yang. At the same time, Task goes deeper, tracing the fractured Family Relationships (116) in Tom and Robbie’s home lives as neither man can protect his loved ones from the darkness he’s drawn into at work. This secondary focus makes the series somewhat unique, as the Team Dynamics driver in gritty crime is much more likely to be paired with themes based on the group mission (Ambition & Drive, Dangerous Mission) rather than the players’ families back home.

How important are the individual protagonists? 
They drive the show’s bingeability. In addition to fitting the team dynamics, both Robbie and Tom make for fascinating character studies in their own right, with audiences eager to see them counter traumatic backstories (Overcoming Adversity, 135), grapple with questions of fatherhood and family, and generally confront their darkness and pain (Struggling, 114). The cat-and-mouse game that unfolds between them, with Robbie and his crew trying to outwit Tom and his team of agents (Being Hunted, 124)–culminating in a final resolute showdown (Confrontation, 110)–is keeping viewers glued to their seats, waiting to see how and if each man subdues his own demons.

What type of story is Task telling?
A multi-faceted one. While most obviously a dark, grim Crime (131) Thriller (119), the series also weaves in elements across several other genres to construct a more complex whole. Tom and Robbie’s archetypal standoff (cop vs criminal, good vs evil) alludes to a typical Western (118) while going much deeper, as both sides are much grayer than the stereotypical black and white.  At the same time, while Task is no whodunnit, it preserves some elements of Mystery (117) as Tom’s task force must link Robbie’s law-abiding public identity to his after-hours criminality (Secret Identity, 111), and both Tom and Robbie’s home lives offer up fertile ground for emotional Drama (113).

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Who’s been tuning in for this quirky new sitcom? 
We’re seeing an audience that’s 53% men and 69% aged 35+–a notably different viewer profile than other similar shows because of its streaming-only format. Previous workplace comedies like The Office, Parks and Recreation, Abbott Elementary, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, and 30 Rock, all of which aired on the broadcast networks, have all tended to skew much more toward women (59-62%) and even more heavily to those 35+ (87-92%) thanks to built-in differences between the linear and streaming audiences.

What does The Paper carry over from The Office?  
Its set-up. Like its predecessor, The Paper relies on a clever mockumentary format to explore the offbeat Workplace Dynamics (145) and unusual Co-worker Relationships (145) in an office populated by a host of eccentric characters, and its humor relies on the cringe-worthy Awkward & Funny Moments (153) born from their interactions and direct-to-camera asides. These common elements are the series’ top viewership drivers overall and likewise played an important role in The Office’s success. Additionally, both shows share a common character, with exasperated accountant Oscar unhappily finding himself once again in front of the cameras after he moves away from Scranton.

What’s defining The Paper as its own thing? 
A New Beginning (125), both for the show and its titular newspaper. The first season of The Office was, more or less, a recreation of the original British series, and fans already knew what to expect in terms of characters, relationships, and general storylines. This connection (IP Extension, 124), as well as the anticipated themes of Workplace Romance (149) and Male Friendships (140) that were transposed from one set of characters to another, drove early interest, and even non-fans could see how these compelling dynamics would start to play out from the trailers. The Paper, however, is starting with more of a blank slate and viewers know a bit less about what to expect; consequently, its direct link to The Office is nowhere to be found among its top drivers, and the themes propelling its ratings are more generalized (“Co-worker Relationships” rather than the specificities of “Workplace Romance” or “Male Friendship”). Instead, this new series is mimicking its protagonists as they venture into the unknown and reconfigure their lives (Lifestyle Change, 123).

What about The Paper’s style of comedy?
It’s landing as more topical. Whereas both The Office and The Paper take the same humorous tone and feature branches of the same paper manufacturing conglomerate, the latter zooms in on a subgroup attempting to revive a small local newspaper and tracks mediocre paper salespeople striving to become decent amateur journalists. This semi-serious focus on legacy media and struggling reporters at a time when the legitimacy of the press and News Reports (125) are widely questioned may be helping The Paper to feel especially current and of-the-moment. Its witty Satirical Humor (140) and overall style of Parody (138) are driving its bingeability, whereas these particular flavors of comedy did not register at all for The Office’s first season.

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Who’s been watching this exciting new series?
We’re seeing an audience that leans toward women (58%) and is mostly aged 35+ (84%)–an older and more female-skewing viewership than we often see for action-heavy spy thrillers on streaming services. Shows like The Night Agent, Jack Ryan, and the Citadel franchise tend to appeal more strongly to men and pull in a few more <35s than Butterfly. The latter’s deep exploration of a father-daughter relationship and its two strong female leads (one protagonist, one antagonist) may help account for its differing demographic profile.

Why have viewers been tuning in? 
For the amped-up excitement. Butterfly offers up plenty of gunfights, hand-to-hand combat, car chases, explosions, and other heart-pounding Action & Violence (139) as former agent David Jung is forced to tangle once again with the dangerous intelligence agency that betrayed him nine years prior. Determined to finally take them down (Dangerous Mission, 139), David must recruit his estranged daughter (Team Up, 111) and fight back against an army of ruthless operatives (Overcoming Adversity, 116) to achieve justice at long last. The fact that the show is set in South Korea and boasts a  diverse ensemble cast (Cultural Diversity, 127) adds to its draws and sets up another key ratings driver.

What’s making this first season so bingeworthy? 
The family drama. Butterfly examines the complex Father-Child Relationship (134) between David and the troubled daughter he left behind, and it’s this recognizably human story within the morally gray world of Espionage (118) that gives the show its beating heart. David and daughter Rebecca must work to overcome a Troubled Past (131) full of Trauma & Tragedy (111) in order to truly reconnect; at the same time, Rebecca’s talent as an assassin and loyalty to her father’s sworn Archenemy (111)–the manipulative head of the spy organization–infinitely complicates their reunion. Audiences are leaning forward to root for their touching connection and see how their relationship will ultimately unfold. In addition, these same themes that play into the show’s bingeability are also driving its longevity and will help propel the story forward if Butterfly is renewed for another season.

How does the show’s social buzz look? 
Very strong. Online activity rocketed to the top of our buzz meter (at 160) with the August 13 release of the full six-episode season and has consistently remained there in the three weeks since. Such a promising start suggests the show will have legs, as viewers post and tweet about the showstopping action, dangerous spy missions, and central father-daughter relationship.

What’s standing out about the show in South Korea? 
The spy genre. Set and filmed on location in Seoul and across the country, Butterfly provides an authentic look at the vibrancy and beauty of South Korea. However, while this setting stands out as a major ratings draw in the US, it’s unsurprisingly much less of a distinctive selling point in its home market (Cultural Diversity, KR 91). Instead, Korean audiences are expected to be pulled in by the show’s clever spycraft and Espionage (KR 120) trappings–much more so than the tense Action & Violence (KR 94) that’s the #1 driver for Americans.

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