Image: Cobra Kai, YouTube Premium
The Spring TV shows premiere period, which continues through May 22nd, is as usual a significant time on the TV calendar: YouTube Premium has unveiled season two of Cobra Kai (ranked at No. 1 on our digital originals chart) on April 24th. The ten-part series elevates the rivalry between Johnny Lawrence (William Zabka) and Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio) to the next generation of fighters.
Our digital originals chart, derived from factors including audience streaming demand data shows Cobra Kai with a 40% week-on-week demand increase, and fans can expect YouTube Premium’s continuation of The Karate Kid story. The series has smartly capitalized on nostalgia and has previously woven clever call-backs into the plot throughout its first season.
Amidst the finale of both Hulu’s The Act and Star Trek: Discovery from CBS All Access, demand grew slightly for Star Trek: Discovery (+9.6%) while The Act decreased lightly, having been released last month to critical acclaim. We are hoping that Hulu is working on a second instalment!
Jordan Peele’s reboot of The Twilight Zone (ranked #9) continues to thoughtfully script episodes that tap into Rob Serling’s desire to make meaningful statements about the state of the world by using fantasy and satire. Demand for the CBS All Access series for the week ending April 27th has decreased 9.8% week-on-week.
Rounding out the chart, avid followers of Narcos (styled on screen as Narcos: Mexico) have maintained demand for the American/Mexican crime drama, coming in at #10 this week; Netflix has remained tight-lipped about any official details about Narcos: Mexico season 2.
With nearly 500 scripted shows now airing across broadcast, cable, and streaming services, it is staggering to see HBO’s Game of Thrones amassing more than seven times the demand compared to the next most in-demand show on the overall chart.
But besides the global buzz for Game of Thrones, when does a contestant have a streak on Jeopardy! for weeks on end? That’s what we call appointment television – Jeopardy! is prominently featured as #10 on our overall demand chart; the series has moved up from #17 last week on the back of a 27.1% increase in demand.
Jeopardy! features the fantastic run of James Holzhauer, who has collected over $1.3 million in a 18-day run at the time of writing. The demand increase reflects the public’s fascination with the Las Vegas sports gambler; this is the first time the syndicated game show has appeared on our overall top 10 chart.
Finally, Saturday Night Live alumni Adam Sandler returns to host the NBC sketch comedy program. It’s Sandler’s first time in that role and demand for season 44 has been going steady, with its finale with Paul Rudd on May 18th; this week the series is ranked 3rd overall in the United States.
