It’s been an exciting year so far for television and one show, 13 Reasons Why, has shown the deepest benchmark of growth in TV Time history by crossing 1 million followers in the 15 weeks since its debut. The Netflix series which launched on March 31st has averaged 70,000 new fans per week -- and it doesn’t appear to be slowing down.
At the halfway mark of the TV calendar season, networks and streaming platforms have released sixty-one new titles. Netflix makes up the largest group with eight shows, followed immediately by NBC with seven, and six shows apiece for FOX and ABC. However, that doesn’t mean that all of these shows have gained a notable following.
The show that comes in second in our most followed debut shows this year? The CW’s Riverdale which has amassed more than 560K followers since its premiere in late January. The dark murder-mystery based on the Archie comic has gained a respectable 24K followers per week.
Marvel’s Iron Fist comes in third with 338K followers. The show has leaned heavily on the other Marvel properties Netflix has developed and while it may not be a critical darling, it clearly has fans in our app.
The rest of our most followed debut shows of 2017 range in terms of content, from mind-blowing fantasy worlds explored in Legion (No. 5) and American Gods (No. 6) to soapy dramas like Big Little Lies (No. 8) and Famous in Love (No. 10). Other trends we've noticed is the lack of big network shows tracked this year. The CW’s Riverdale is the only major network entry to appear in the Top 10 and Santa Clarita Diet, coming in at No. 7 with 180K followers, is the only half-hour comedy. FX’s Taboo (No. 9) and Netflix’s A Series of Unfortunate Events (No. 4) are also the only two traditional period pieces with notable new followings in 2017.
TV Timers, are you following the Top 10 most followed debut shows of 2017? Who else should have made the list?
See the full list below.
1. 13 Reasons Why (1,008,341)
2. Riverdale (560,878)
3. Marvel’s Iron Fist (338,637)
4. A Series of Unfortunate Events (299,263)
5. Legion (216,739)
6. American Gods (203,074)
7. Santa Clarita Diet (180,937)
8. Big Little Lies (171,723)
9. Taboo (158,300)
10. Famous in Love (120,882)
*Data reflects followers as of July 10, 2017
For more 13 Reasons Why fandom, check out our exclusive "Fangirl Fridays" podcast interview with writer Julia Bicknell.
