Advertisement

‘Stranger Things, ‘Umbrella Academy’ and ‘House of the Dragon’ Rule Twitter Conversation

Amber Dowling
·6-min read

After falling to second on Variety’s Trending TV chart last week, “Stranger Things” was back up top for the week of June 20 to 26. The show climbed 10% week-over-week in terms of overall engagement as fans gear up for the drop of Season 4’s last two episodes on July 1.

Plenty of that conversation was driven by a new trailer Netflix released to promote the two-part finale, as fans speculated about which of their favorite characters might see their demise in the upcoming episodes. Accompanying first-look images also offered clues and helped fuel the fire. One thing fans know for sure is these final two episodes will feel more like events: the penultimate episode is 85 minutes long and the finale clocks in at nearly two and a half hours.

Netflix also scored second place on this week’s chart following the return of “The Umbrella Academy,” with more than 256,000 engagements. The third season dropped on Wednesday with 10 new episodes following a two-year hiatus. As fans caught up with the family of superheroes, critics have applauded the way the series introduced the character of Viktor following Elliot Page’s real-life transition.

In the first two episodes, fans met Viktor in a storyline that was drawn from Page’s experiences coming out in 2020. The show also hired trans writer Thomas Page McBee to help oversee the storyline, which McBree said, in an essay for Esquire, had to happen quickly and “without the hand-holding usually provided for cisgender audiences,” given how events picked up shortly following the Season 2 finale.

Rounding out third place was upcoming “Game of Thrones” prequel series “House of the Dragon.” The HBO fantasy drama released new key art last week ahead of its Aug. 21 debut, helping to drive more than 218,000 engagements. Fans also discussed the upcoming show in relation to the new Jon Snow-led spinoff in development, which “Thrones” creator George R.R. Martin later confirmed.

“House of the Dragon” takes place 200 years before “Game of Thrones” and revolves around House Targaryen. Paddy Considine, Matt Smith, Olivia Cooke, Emma D’Arcy, Steve Toussaint, Eve Best, Fabien Frankel, Sonoya Mizuno and Rhys Ifans star.

Another steady Netflix player, “Heartstopper,” also continued to make its Trending TV chart pulse known, landing in fourth place again this week, with 150,000 engagements. The series debuted two months ago on the streaming service and has been on the chart ever since. This week, it’s trending up in total engagements.

Rounding out the Top 5 was “Ms. Marvel” on Disney+ following a new episode release on Wednesday. The first season officially reached its midpoint last week as more fans discovered the Iman Vellani-led MCU series for the first time. The superhero show continued to lose overall engagement and dropped another 10% week-over-week, however, shifting from third to fifth place.

Heading up the second half of this week’s Top 10 was the six-part debut of “Money Heist: Korea - Joint Economic Area.” The Korean remake of Álex Pina’s Emmy-winning “La Casa de Papel (Money Heist)” had a baked-in audience heading into the premiere, thanks to fans of the original. It came in strong with more than 103,000 engagements.

Much like the original, the K-drama revolves around a group of thieves plotting an unprecedented money heist, only in this series, Korea is on the brink of unifying. The action takes place in the Joint Security Area (located along the North and South Korean divide), where a mint pumps out a new currency. Fans were particularly invested in all of the current pop-culture references from the episodes.

Another returning contender, HBO/HBO Max’s “The Last of Us,” sunk its teeth into this week’s chart. After failing to hit the Top 10 last week, the upcoming video game adaptation starring Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey earned 86,000 engagements, landing in seventh place.

The show’s 13-month shoot recently wrapped in Alberta, Canada, and fans are now eagerly awaiting an official premiere date confirmation from HBO.

An official confirmation from “Jimmy Kimmel Live,” meanwhile, earned the late-night program more than 52,000 engagements this week, propelling it onto the chart at No. 8. The show welcomes Aespa on June 29, when the girl group is in town for its first-ever American showcase, SYNK in LA. According to ABC, the group will perform its latest English single, “Life’s Too Short.”

Rounding out this week’s chart, in ninth place, was anime offering “One Piece” on Netflix and Hulu with 47,000 engagements and Starz’s “Outlander” in 10th with 43,000.

Best of Variety

Sign up for Variety’s Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Click here to read the full article.