Shows start out with a bang.
In the fourth week of summer, television addicts were given six exhilarating premieres to add to their must-see lists.
Showcasing everything from washed-up rock stars to sinister vampire viruses, millions of Americans tuned in to watch episodes of Ray Donovan, The Strain, Masters of Sex, BoJack Horseman, Married, and Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll. But with a collective Facebook and Twitter following of over 2.6MM users, we wanted to know which of the following plot lines revved up the most reactions on social media:
- Ray awkwardly rubbing elbows with the upper crust to free a family’s kidnapped son on the season premiere of Ray Donovan
- The discovery of a heavily guarded, potentially game-changing vampire secret on the season premiere of The Strain
- Intense struggles with motherhood and deep-seated depression on the season premiere of Masters of Sex
- BoJack’s decision to make a life change, despite the potential damage it may have to his new acting gig on the season premiere of BoJack Horseman
- Jess and AJ’s heated game of cold shoulder on the season premiere of Married
- Johnny’s attempt to get the old band back together in hopes of superstardom on the series premiere of Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll
The Social Totals
Ray Donovan pulled out the big guns by generating a total of 145.9K engagements for a 39.4% market share. The Strain also took a big bite out of the social engagement pie, accumulating 100.6K reactions to secure both second place and a 27.2% market share.
Active Audiences
Total engagement volume is extremely important, but it’s not the only factor by which to measure success. Imagine if a television show is aired in millions of homes, but only a few hundred people actually pay attention. The same thing (as well as the reverse) can happen on social media, so we also measure the activity level of each show’s audience. In this category, it was the funny failings of Johnny Rock on Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll that had the best performance, racking up 577.6 engagements per 1K users. Ray Donovan’s audience also achieved social celeb status, grabbing the runner-up spot with 515.7 engagements per 1K users.
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Ray Donovan (premiere)
Facebook 541,671
Twitter: 39027
Masters of Sex (premiere)
Facebook: 738,804
Twitter: 29940
The Strain (premiere)
Facebook: 717,867
Twitter: 55273
Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll (series premiere)
Facebook: 64,846
Twitter: 10020
Married (premiere)
Facebook: 98,669
Twitter: 7524
BoJack Horseman (premiere)
Facebook: 257,339
Twitter: 58074