Streaming Wars • November 2022
Severance Tops Watchworthy Leaderboards, A First For Apple TV+
The appeal of this critically praised drama, as well as other shows from earlier this year, keeps growing stronger.
The steady, surprising rise of Severance toward the end of 2022 has given Apple TV+ its first ever chart-topping month on the Watchworthy leaderboards. Clearing the way for the inventive dystopian sci-fi was previous #1 series House of the Dragon, which fell in the month following its finale, but not nearly as far as its rival Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power did. The rest of the Top 20 in November was populated by a “who’s who” of 2022’s most popular shows, including Hawkeye, Reacher, and Abbott Elementary. The only new entry In November was Netflix’s Wednesday, while other November premieres like Hulu/FX’s Fleishman Is in Trouble, Netflix’s Blockbuster, and HBO Max’s returning The Sex Lives of College Girls failed to break the Top 20.
Photo: Severance, Apple
Severance Makes Steaming Wars History for Apple TV+
It’s taken a good 10 months since its premiere, but Severance has finally reached the top of the Watchworthy leaderboards, the first Apple TV+ original to do so since the platform’s beginning. The rise of Severance to the top of the Streaming Wars heap didn’t begin in earnest until after it earned an Emmy nomination for outstanding drama series in July. The following month, the Adam Scott-led drama nearly doubled the number of “likes” it earned from Watchworthy users. Severance’s Likes grew by an average of 25% in the months leading up to its crowning achievement in November, with Watchlist adds growing at similar rates. But this is sadly the only good news for Apple: the only other show that registered in November was Black Bird at #38 overall.
Photo: Abbott ELementary, ABC
Lack of Premieres Leaves Space for Older Favorites
Why are shows that are coming toward the end of their leaderboard lifespan like Hawkeye and Abbott Elementary suddenly surging up the Top 20? It can largely be explained by the slowing pace of new TV releases as we get closer to the holidays — there were no new blockbusters for these older titans to compete with. Slow months like this seem to benefit Disney+ in particular, as Marvel and Star Wars shows have a staying power that only the biggest of dramas (think Squid Game or Queen’s Gambit) can compete with.
Wednesday will be an interesting test case for a show belonging to a franchise outside of Disney’s reach, as House of the Dragon and Rings of Power will be going forward. Its singular success as a premiering show in November (due largely to a high volume of Watchlist adds, searches, and trailer views) is all the more impressive considering that it only premiered a week before the end of the month. That suggests that Netflix’s subscriber base is drawn to either The Addams Family, Tim Burton, or both in a way that could keep Watchworthy users engaging with the show for months to come.
Photo: Andor, Disney+
Andor’s Surprising Fall
Given that this critically acclaimed new addition to Disney+’s stable of Star Wars content reached its exciting conclusion toward the end of November, it’s a little disappointing that Andor ended up falling seven spots in November — likes and Watchlist adds both fell by more than 50% since the previous month. While #11 is nothing to sneeze at, this drop-off is reminiscent of Rings of Power, which fell from #2 to #14 in October. It remains to be seen how strong interest in Andor will be over the course of its first year on the air, but it’s clear already that it doesn’t have quite the same draw that a mega-hit like The Mandolorian has.
Photo: Tulsa King, Paramount+
Mixed Month for Taylor Sheridan and Paramount+ Ahead of 1923 Premiere
You can’t keep 1883 down, as 2022 has shown us again and again. The Yellowstone prequel has weaved in and out of the Top 20 since it premiered back in December 2021, giving Paramount+ a much-needed mainstay. Though it’s being put out to pasture next month, it’s set to be replaced with the sequel 1923, a show that’s sure to get attention with its A-list stars Harrison Ford and Helen Mirren. But the premiere of another show from Yellowstone/1883 creator Taylor Sheridan bodes less well for 1923: Tulsa King, co-created by Sopranos writer Terence Winter, failed to clear even the Top 50 in its first month on the air. Granted, it did premiere toward the end of the month, but with big names behind the camera and movie star Sylvester Stallone in front of it, Paramount+ will likely find the lack of anticipation for the series disappointing.
Our Methodology
In 30 seconds, our Watchworthy recommendation app learns your taste in TV and gives every show a “Worthy Score” specifically for you: the higher a given show’s Worthy Score, the more likely it is you will enjoy that show. Each month we track user engagement across thousands of series for every major streaming service. All of these signals are combined into a single metric called Watchworthy Engagement. This enables Ranker to determine which service’s content has the highest engagement — in other words, the streaming platforms who are winning the Streaming Wars.
The Top 20 shows measures which new series (premiered two years ago or later) are garnering the most Engagement from our users month to month. The most Watchworthy platform measures Engagement across all TV shows, new and old, and aggregates them according to the platform they stream on.
