Image: Cobra Kai, YouTube Red
Parrot Analytics’ weekly top 10 television charts are based on Demand Expressions, a weighted average standard industry metric that incorporates numerous inputs such as peer-to-peer and streaming content data, fan & critic ratings data, social media data and more to compute the top 10 TV streaming ratings chart, as well as the top 10 for linear television series.
Cobra Kai came in at No. 1 this week on the US digital originals chart and No. 5 in the overall TV shows chart for the week that ended May 12, according to our latest television series popularity data in the domestic U.S. market. YouTube Red’s 10-episode first season of Cobra Kai debuted on May 2 on the paid service. On May 10, YouTube revealed that it was renewing the show for a second season.
The comedy-drama series (with a 154% bump in demand compared to last week) relies heavily on nostalgia, blending in new characters with William Zabka and Ralph Macchio. The series picks up 30 years after the events of the original 1984 film. Like the first, the second season will contain 10, 30-minute episodes, and will debut on YouTube Red sometime in 2019. According to YouTube, the first episode of Cobra Kai had 11 million views, three days after it premiered – and by May 14, it had racked up over 26 million views.
Elsewhere in the chart, Netflix titles produced mixed results. 13 Reasons Why (which in the prior week was ranked No. 1) generated 40.1 million Demand Expressions on the back of the release of season two’s full-length trailer on May 8. In contrast, both Arrested Development and Dear White People increased 7 and 19 places respectively compared to the prior week, due to new episodes releasing in May. Despite The Handmaid’s Tale from Hulu airing weekly, week-on-week demand has been steady, managing a single-digit percentage improvement compared to the prior week. Lastly, Netflix’s Sense8 returns to the chart but had 18% less demand than Money Heist (La Casa De Papel.
This week, renewals and finales have impacted demand on the overall chart: ABC’s Grey’s Anatomy (ranked No. 3; the longest-running medical drama with 300+ aired episodes), CBS’s The Big Bang Theory (previously ranked No. 15) and The CW’s The Flash (a 13% increase in demand compared to last week; renewed for season 5) experienced a surge of demand after each respective series reached its climax. Also, the renewal of Rick and Morty from Adult Swim for 70 more episodes, led to the adult animation series having slightly more demand than HBO’s Game of Thrones, managing a 38% increase in popularity compared to last week. For the first time in 2018, Game of Thrones is ranked tenth on the overall chart, the series is less popular this week than Cobra Kai.
