Author: Claire

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.

—

Who’s been watching this compelling new series? 
We’re seeing an audience that’s 53% women and 81% aged 30+–a more gender-balanced viewership than many similar dark crime dramas. Other entrants in this space often appeal more heavily to women, even those led by male detectives (e.g. Mare of Easttown, Happy Valley, Long Bright River, Broadchurch, Wallander, Sherlock–all 57-63% women), though they all show a similarly heavy 30+ skew.

What’s the show’s biggest draw? 
Its eccentric protagonist (Eccentric Character POV, 145). After a case gone wrong destroys his meager emotional stability, Detective Chief Inspector Carl Morck is relegated to the cold case basement, investigating unsolvable crimes that no one else wants to touch (Lifestyle Change, 118). Brilliant yet thoroughly unlikeable–his judgement, sarcasm, and ego spare no one–he’s tasked with putting together a competent team (Team Up, 140) willing to embrace his vicious quirks and sand down his edges. Audiences are tuning in and staying put for Morck’s tortured Journey of Self Discovery (130) as he attempts to course-correct his flailing life and overcome the Psychological Turmoil (113) of past trauma–his personal story drives both ratings and bingeability.

What else about the series is attracting viewers? 
Tension and suspense. Dept. Q traffics in Dark Themes (160) and dangerous situations as Morck becomes fixated on solving the seemingly unsolvable: the disappearance of a high-profile prosecutor four years prior. As his team ventures farther down the twisted rabbit hole (Conspiracy and Cover Ups, 117) in their Search for the Truth (132), audiences are reveling in the riveting emotional experience (Terror, 128; Surprise, 117; Aggressiveness, 114) of their high-stress investigation.

How does the show’s online buzz look? 
Killer. Online activity skyrocketed with the show’s full-season release on May 29, maxing out our social buzz meter (at 160) and holding steady at peak levels for nearly three weeks straight. Viewers are texting and tweeting about the same key driver that’s drawing them into the show: Morck’s erratic character.

What will help catapult Dept. Q into a second season? 
The crime-solving elements. While the show’s acerbic protagonist is what’s driving ratings, it’s the steady drumbeat of its Police Procedural (119) framework that will keep its story engine running for seasons to come. Audiences will keep returning to see Morck follow new clues, crack new cases (Solving A Murder, 116), and put new perpetrators behind bars (Criminal Justice System, 111), all in a quaint Edinburgh setting (British Culture, 114).

—

Who’s the typical audience for this type of show? 
Mostly women 30+. In keeping with the broader mystery-thriller sweet spot, this ‘wealthy crime’ subgenre also tends to appeal most strongly to a female audience, with streaming viewership landing at 57-68% women and 68-77% aged 30+; Sirens falls toward the upper end of both ranges (65% women, 74% aged 30+). An exception can arise if the series also weaves in darker, bloodier elements to bring in more men; the violence-filled The Fall of the House of Usher, for example, actually skews slightly male (55%).

How important is wealth to these shows’ success? 
Very. The elite status of the protagonists is what sets up the series’ core themes and provides the contrast between the rarefied setting and the sordid crimes within it. Story elements like the characters’ high Social Status, conspicuously Wealthy Lifestyles, and efforts to rise higher still (Power Struggles)–especially when set against dark Secrets & Lies, a Criminal Investigation, the Death of a Loved One, or a Murder Mystery–help to drive ratings, bingeability, and social buzz. A number of these shows also feature an audience surrogate (Fish Out of Water) in the form of a lower-class outsider, who serves as an effective onramp for viewers by being just as taken aback at the disturbing peek behind the 1% curtain (e.g. Sirens’ older sister, The Perfect Couple’s new fiance, The White Lotus’s hotel staff).

What else helps these series bring in viewers?
Centering on family. Nearly all shows within this microgenre–even those with a more wide-ranging set of characters (e.g. The White Lotus, Nine Perfect Strangers, Death and Other Details)–explore Family Relationships within this moneyed milieu, honing in particularly on themes of Family Dysfunction and Family Tension. Though shown through a fairly melodramatic lens, it’s nevertheless these universal themes that make the shows more broadly relatable and accessible to viewers, and the wealthy protagonists more sympathetic. Audiences can feel for the broken Father-Child Relationships (135) in The Fall of the House of Usher, for example, or the strained Sibling Relationships (128) on The White Lotus while still scoffing at the absurd behavior of their out-of-touch elite.

What’s setting Sirens apart? 
Dark comedy. While Netflix’s newest show incorporates all the key elements of its subgenre, it also adds a heavy dose of Twisted Humor (128) into its exploration of wealth and power. The series examines a young woman’s creepy, worshipful devotion to her billionaire boss, and its depiction of the billionaire’s absurdly curated ‘Stepford Wives’ persona and over-the-top cult-like influence has viewers snickering–while still leaning into its mounting sense of danger and tension.

What’s the buzz potential for these types of shows? 
Very high. Most of these series immediately maxed out our social buzz meter (to 160) upon release, with a number sustaining that level of online activity for weeks (especially The White Lotus and The Undoing). Sirens seems on track to make a similarly impressive splash; it’s currently still holding at (160) twenty days after its premiere and has already outpaced last fall’s The Perfect Couple.

—