Rapid Insights: Lockerbie: A Search for Truth Highlights What Makes Historical True Crime Stories Stick
Last week, Peacock released a buzzy new miniseries dramatizing the deadliest terror attack in UK history: the horrific 1988 bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland. The show stars Colin Firth as the real-life Jim Swire, a grieving father determined to uncover what really happened and secure justice for his daughter as well as the 269 other victims.
Here’s what you need to know about Lockerbie: A Search for Truth:
Vault 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 has been tuning in for this new true-crime drama?
We’re seeing an audience that’s gender-balanced (51% men / 49% women) and leans heavily to those aged 30+ (81%)–and particularly to those aged 45+ (56%), who may well remember the original news coverage of the bombing in 1988. Streaming viewership skews slightly older than previous dramas based on real-world events, such as Chernobyl, Waco, Dopesick, American Crime Story, When They See Us, and A Very English Scandal (62-78% aged 30+).
What’s been driving the show’s ratings?
Jim Swire’s struggle. Devastated by the loss of his daughter (Death of a Loved One, 160), a passenger on the ill-fated plane, Swire embarks on a single-minded quest for the truth: who put the bomb on Flight 103, how did they get it there, what country was backing them, and why does the UK government seem to be blocking his demand for answers at every turn (Conspiracy and Cover Ups, 148)? Audiences are watching to see Underdog (135) Swire defy overwhelming odds and several governments to expose the truth so that Justice (145) can finally be served.
What type of viewing experience are audiences looking for?
A cathartic one. The top emotions attracting viewers clearly express the devastating horror of the bombing and the endless frustration of Swire’s crusade for Honor (134) and Vengeance (130): Disgust (139), Loathing (135), Anger (135), Rage (135), and Aggressiveness (132). Audiences want to see their own real-life feelings about the tragedy acted out on screen.
What’s making the show so binge-worthy?
The real-world history. Lockerbie depicts an infamously Tragic Event (124) that most viewers have likely heard about (Based on Historical Events, 116), and its direct links to large-scale Terrorism (126) unfortunately give it heavy modern-day relevance. Viewers keep watching to see events unfold and whether this deeper story lines up with their own memories of what happened.
What drove interest when this series aired in the UK?
The significance of the event. The strongest viewership drivers for British audiences lean into the same elements that are making Lockerbie binge-worthy in the US: the scale of the very local tragedy (Tragic Event, UK: 123) and its nefarious underlying cause (Terrorism, UK: 118).
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