Image: The Flash, The CW
In the U.S. for the week of May 13 - 19, while the top five positions in the overall ranking remained unchanged, we did see a little bit of movement among the bottom five shows and also noted a new entrant in the ranking. The Flash remained in second place, just behind Spongebob Squarepants with 83.9 times the average series demand. While it had the same position in the ranking, the DC series did have a 5% increase in demand, staying high up on the chart as predicted last week.
Fox’s The Simpsons moved up to take sixth place in the ranking with 57 times the average series demand this week. The show saw a 6% increase ahead of its season finale which is set to air on May 21. We expect to see demand for the ever popular animated series to increase again next week after its season finale, especially considering that it is the show’s 750th episode, and will also be featuring the singer Lizzo for the first time. Meanwhile, NBC’s Saturday Night Live dropped to seventh place after demand for the series fell by a further 10% this week as well. With the ongoing WGA strike, shows like SNL will be unable to air any new content until the strike is resolved, leading to a very likely scenario in which we would see it slide off the ranking as audience demand for the series keeps sinking.
HBO’s Succession made an appearance in the overall ranking for the first time in 2023 this week. The award-winning black comedy series is currently in the midst of airing its series finale, and it saw a slight spike in demand right after its eighth episode aired on May 14. The series is set to air its finale episode on May 28, so we do expect to see audience demand for it to continue rising as we head closer to the date. As of this week, it had 50 times more demand than the average series in the U.S. for the week.
In the streaming original ranking this week, while Stranger Things remained the top show with 58 times the average series demand, it had a 5% decline this week. The show still pulled ahead of Ted Lasso, which had a 3% increase in demand this week that put it in second place with 50.8 times the average series demand in the U.S. The sports comedy show is heading closer to its series finale date of May 31, which could explain why it saw an increase in demand this week, as fans could now be catching up to all the episodes ahead of the finale.
After enjoying a few weeks at the top of the ranking, Disney+’s The Mandalorian slid to third place as a result of a 6% decline in demand. Since its finale aired a few weeks ago, we do expect to see the show fall lower in the rankings as audience attention shifts to fresher content. Following its finale on May 11, Titans had further 3% increase in demand this week which helped it maintain its position in fourth place with 40.1 times the average series demand. Meanwhile, after a meteoric rise up the rankings last week, Netflix’s Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story had a 15% decline which saw it fall to seventh place this week.
Besides Ted Lasso and Titans, Prime Video’s The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel was the only other streaming original that had an increase in demand this week, although a very slight one. The show moved up to ninth place and had 26.2 times the average series demand. Rounding out the top ten streaming originals ranking this week, we see Paramount+’s Star Trek: Picard in tenth place with 26.1 times the average series demand. Since its finale on April 20, demand for the series has been steadily declining, and it’s likely to slide off the ranking over the next few weeks as audiences turn their attention to other shows and movies.
