The Top 5 Primetime Shows Being Watched By Streamers

For almost 10 years, the story of TV has been the slow death of network television at the hands of streaming. But that story is usually told through Nielsen statistics, pointing to declining linear viewership to portray the Big 4 networks as out-of-touch dinosaurs unable to retain today’s digital-friendly viewers. Watchworthy data tells a different story: in the last few years, these networks have made efforts to adapt to shifts in the television landscape, not by maneuvering to bring viewers back to cable, but by competing in the streaming wars themselves. These “dinosaurs” are beginning to thrive in a brave new world that was supposed to leave them behind.

Our Watchworthy app is designed for streamers seeking recommendations that will help them find which of the hundreds of titles available to them are actually worth their time. We keep an eye on the shows made in the last year that are grabbing the most Engagement from our users — the shows that aren’t just popular, but new, trending, and grabbing the attention of people who watch TV primarily via streaming. In April, three of our Top 20 Most Watchworthy shows were airing new episodes in primetime slots on one of three major networks: CBS, ABC, or NBC. We’re taking a look at these and two other new shows grabbing the attention of Watchworthy users to guess what our findings might indicate about the diverse and changing audience of network television.

#1: Ghosts (CBS)

the Watchworthy leaderboards since it premiered in October. Ghosts is the most-watched first-year comedy on broadcast TV, according to Variety. Cynics might argue that’s like being the youngest resident of a nursing home, but Ghosts, which also streams on Paramount+, is the #9 most Watchworthy new show in April. That indicates the show has its hands in both the OTT and broadcast cookie jars.

The tastes of Ghosts fans seem to confirm that idea. According to Watchworthy, those who love the CBS original comedy are also more likely to enjoy Rutherford Falls than any other show — and Rutherford Falls is exclusively available on Peacock. The other shows that appeal to the Ghosts audience — American Auto (NBC), Home Economics (ABC), Call Your Mother (ABC), and Young Rock (NBC) — are all from broadcast networks. Most of these can be viewed on Hulu and/or Peacock, but the fact that so many are associated with Ghosts indicates that viewers who may be dishing out for these DTC services are also consuming television the traditional way.

#2: Abbott Elementary (ABC)

ABC’s feel-good workplace comedy about a group of dedicated teachers at an underfunded Philadelphia public school is just three spots behind Ghosts on the Watchworthy leaderboards in April at #12. The top two broadcast shows on this list are both half-hour comedies, and they’re the highest-ranked straightforward sitcoms in the Watchworthy Top 20 (the #4-ranked Only Murders in the Building is a comedy, but the jokes usually take a back seat to the unfolding mystery at its center). That indicates the situational comedy is one area where broadcast still has streamers beat.

Again, the tastes of the Abbott Elementary audience feature a healthy mix of streaming original and prime-time network content. The show most likely to appeal to Abbott Elementary fans is Promised Land, and not far behind is The Good Doctor — both dramas that share a home network with Abbott. But after that, they’re most likely to be drawn to Apple TV+’s Ted Lasso and HBO Max’s Hacks, two comedies with positive outlooks that can’t be viewed on cable or broadcast television. Evening out the mix is Shining Vale, a horror show from Starz with a decidedly more negative tone.

#3: The Endgame (NBC)

NBC’s The Endgame, a cat-and-mouse crime thriller that pits a no-nonsense FBI agent against a criminal mastermind, is #16 on the Watchworthy leaderboards. A sort of primetime American version of BBC’s Killing Eve, The Endgame makes for pretty compelling viewing for broadcast fans: It’s ranked #1 on The Best Shows On Monday Night in 2022, beating out prestige favorite Better Call Saul, and #3 on The Best Current NBC Shows. That’s perhaps one reason why its adherents are so uniformly drawn to network crime dramas.

According to Watchworthy, the shows most likely to share fans with The Endgame are NCIS: Hawaii (CBS), Shades of Blue (NBC), FBI: International (CBS), Unforgettable (CBS/A&E), and Pivoting (Fox). While the last of those series is an outlier because it’s a comedy and not a crime procedural, they’re all shows that premiered in primetime spots on broadcast television. Of course, streaming services offer plenty of crime shows that Endgame fans could get into, including Slow Horses, Mare of Easttown, and Bosch. But it seems unlikely that Endgame fans are streaming all this content that just happens to originate from broadcast TV. Is this a quirk unique to the Endgame audience, or do network crime drama fans and DTC content just not get along?

#4: Law & Order: Organized Crime (NBC)

Law & Order: Organized Crime is the perfect way to answer that question. Dick Wolf’s Law & Order franchise set the standard for what we now know as the network crime procedural. The franchise has so many spinoffs because its formula is so appealing to millions of viewers. Given that Organized Crime is ranked #1 on The Best Current NBC Drama Shows, eight spots ahead of Special Victims Unit, it would seem this new spinoff has captured that huge audience. And although streaming platforms offer plenty of mysteries and police dramas, very few dare to follow the trail blazed by Wolf. So the question is, are fans of the latest Law & Order series streaming TV, as well?

The answer is a loud and emphatic “Yes!” Sure, the audience for Organized Crime has an affinity for plenty of other Dick Wolf shows like Law & Order: True Crime and Chicago P.D., as well as for competing broadcast procedurals like CSI: Vegas. But this audience is also drawn to Apple TV+’s underrated drama The Mosquito Coast, HBO Max’s international crime thriller Possessions, and Bear Town, another import on HBO Max about a depressed Swedish town resting its hopes for revitalization on its junior hockey team. It seems that some modern network series have an audience that exists across TV media, while others tend to attract just one sort of TV viewer.

#5: The Thing About Pam (NBC)

This true crime miniseries starring Renée Zellweger was the most popular digital debut on Peacock for any NBC show during its first week on the streaming service, and ratings among its key demo quadrupled when delayed digital views were counted a week after its premiere. It’s clear people are watching the show as it airs on NBC and afterward when new episodes come to Peacock. The question is, what else are they watching?

According to Watchworthy, virtually everything Pam fans watch is available to stream only on OTT services — at least, that’s the case in the US. The audience for The Thing About Pam is big into detective dramas from the UK, including the Welsh Hinterland and British whodunits Happy Valley and Wallander. These shows are available to watch only on foreign platforms like English streamer Acorn TV, but Pam viewers are also very interested in the upcoming Lord of the Rings series from Amazon, adding a little domestic variety to the taste profile of this audience.

These stories are crafted using Ranker Insights, which takes over one billion votes cast on Ranker.com and converts them into actionable psychographics about pop culture fans across the world. To learn more about how our Ranker Insights can be customized to serve your business needs, visit insights.ranker.com, or email us at insights@ranker.com.

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