Now that the broadcast networks have unveiled their 2013-14 fare, it's time to take a look at which freshman shows are already making a splash on social media.
Networked Insights, a social media analytics technology company that has worked with MTV, CBS and Samsung, has ranked the new shows dominating the social network landscape (Facebook, blogs, forums, comments, but mostly Twitter) -- and the ones that aren't -- with the help of its marketing platform SocialSense. The company measured sheer volume, viewer sentiment and acceleration to determine its findings.
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Additionally, Networked Insights broadcast its "buy"/"don't buy" recommendations for the networks' new shows during upfront week with its "Operation Outsmart the Upfronts" campaign, a bold move that could have an effect on advertisers' sentiments. (See a photo below.)
It's no surprise that Joss Whedon's Marvel's Agents of SHIELD was the top new ABC -- and overall -- show in terms of viewer engagement on social media. Nearly half the SHIELD conversation (45 percent) centered on the character of Agent Phil Coulson (Clark Gregg), who [spoiler alert!] was killed in The Avengers. As of Friday afternoon, SHIELD's official Twitter boasts more than 46,000 followers, and its Facebook page counts close to half a million "likes." (Both accounts were set up in January, months before ABC officially ordered it to series -- a rarity for a pilot.) Midseason drama Resurrection followed, with Super Fun Night close behind. About half the latter's topics centered on star Rebel Wilson.
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For NBC, viewers believed Blacklist -- the world's most-wanted criminal teams with a newly minted FBI agent -- showed the most promise. Interestingly, 68 percent noted the show's similarity in premise to USA Network's White Collar, which enters its fifth season in the fall. (NBC and USA fall under the NBCUniversal umbrella.) Michael J. Fox's return to television with The Michael J. Fox Show also drew some traction following Blacklist, with J.J. Abrams' Believe in third. About 54 percent indicated that they liked the concept for Believe, about a young girl with a gift and a man from prison tasked to protect her.
Abrams' other new show, robot-cop sci-fi effort Almost Human starring Karl Urban and Michael Ealy, had the most social engagement out of all the upcoming Fox series. More than half the conversation was driven by Abrams, whom 62 percent credited as being the reason they plan to watch in late fall. The Sleepy Hollow redo was second, with 18 percent of those positive about Fringe co-creators Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci's involvement. Andy Samberg's workplace comedy Brooklyn Nine-Nine followed.
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Though CBS didn't have quite as many new shows to tout as its competitors, viewers were most engaged about Robin Williams' The Crazy Ones with co-star Sarah Michelle Gellar driving 71 percent of the conversation. Anna Faris' Mom comedy was the second most-engaging via social media, with Josh Holloway's Intelligence third, as half credited the former Lost star as the driving force.
Over on The CW, viewers saw the most promise in period drama Reign, which tells the story of a young Mary, Queen of Scots, with 74 percent liking the premise. The Tomorrow People, a U.S. take on the U.K. drama from Greg Berlanti and Julie Plec, was the No. 2 most-promising new offering for the network based on viewer engagement, followed by The 100. Noticeably absent from The CW's top crop is The Vampire Diaries spinoff The Originals, which kicks off the network's Tuesday lineup this October. It could be that viewers were already familiar with The Originals, which aired its "backdoor pilot" April 25.
Overall, ABC's Marvel's Agents of SHIELD was the top show with the most engagement out of all the networks, followed by NBC's Blacklist and CBS' The Crazy Ones.
As for the shows that viewers were looking forward to least (not the least number of people talking about them but rather people expressing the most negative feelings about them), here's a network-by-network rundown: ABC's Mind Games and Back in the Game; NBC's Ironside reboot and Sean Saves the World; Fox's Us and Them and Surviving Jack; CBS' Hostages and The Millers; and The CW's The Originals.
Measuring social media engagement isn't the only determining factor for a rookie show's chances of surviving the season, but it can serve as a good indicator of what is clicking with the public.
E-mail: Philiana.Ng@thr.com
Twitter: @insidethetube
