Ratings Report: ‘Dynasty’ Increases Viewership, ‘Bridgerton’ Continues To Strive
Dynasty - CW
Broadcast: Dynasty is an American television series based on the 1980s prime time soap opera of the same name. It was developed by Josh Schwartz, Stephanie Savage, and Sallie Patrick. The first season starred Elizabeth Gillies, Grant Show, Nathalie Kelley, James Mackay, Robert Christopher Riley, Sam Adegoke, Rafael de la Fuente, and Alan Dale. The series later introduced Alexis Carrington, Maddison Brown, Sam Underwood, Michael Michele, Adam Huber, and Eliza Bennett. The pilot, which was ordered to series in May 2017, premiered on October 11, 2017, on The CW in the United States as well as on Netflix internationally a day later. It was picked up for a full season of 22 episodes on November 8, 2017, and was renewed for a fifth season on February 3, 2021, which premiered on December 20, 2021. While production on the fourth season began on October 15, 2020, the CW announced that all their series would have normal episode counts for the post-COVID-19 season. It follows heiress Fallon Carrington, portrayed by Gillies, who is unhappy to find her billionaire father engaged to a rival employee at the family company. As her plan backfire to separate the couple, she allies with a nemesis and former employee. In the wake of a suspicious death, the Carringtons unite with some of them returning to Atlanta with agendas of their own. At the core of it, Dynasty follows two of America’s wealthiest families as they feud for control over their fortune and children. This reboot updates several elements from the original series which include moving the setting to Atlanta, Georgia; making a character’s homosexuality a nonissue to another; and changing a character from a woman to a gay man. Finally, it included a more diverse cast with Latin American and African American representation. Its newest episode recorded 229,000 viewers increasing from 204,000 the previous week. There has been no news on renewal or cancellation.
Snowfall - FX
Cable: Snowfall is an American crime drama television series created by John Singleton, Eric Amadio, and Dave Andron, that was first broadcast on FX on July 5, 2017. It stars Damson Idris, Carter Hudson, Emily Rios, Sergio Peris-Mencheta, Michael Hyatt, Amin Joseph, Angela Lewis, Juan Javier Cardenas, Isaiah John, Filipe Valle Costa, Alon Aboutboul, Malcom Mays, Marcus Henderson, Kevin Carroll, and Devyn A. Tyler. It is set in Los Angeles in 1983, revolving around the first crack epidemic, its impact on the city, and following the stories of several characters whose lives are fated to intersect. The series was renewed for a fourth season which was originally scheduled to premiere in 2020, however, was suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The fourth season premiered on February 24, 2021, with FX renewing the series for a fifth season in March 2021. In April 2022, FX renewed the series for a sixth and final season. Its latest episode recorded 636,000 viewers decreasing from 639,000 the previous week. The last two episodes of the series premieres on April 13 and April 20, 2022 so expect an increase in viewership as it has throughout the series.
Bridgerton - Netflix
Streaming: Netflix’s Bridgerton has returned for its second season and has already topped the Global Top 10 TV (English) ranking with 251,740,000 hours viewed from March 28 to April 3, 2022. In addition, the first season sits right below with 53,020,000 hours viewed. It is an American streaming television period drama series created by Chris Van Dusen and produced by Shonda Rhimes. Rhimes was announced to produce the series based on Julia Quinn’s bestselling novels on July 20, 2018, with Van Dusen serving as showrunner. It is set in Regency-era London’s high society when debutantes are presented at court. This serves as Rhimes’s first scripted Netflix series, and it has quickly gained popularity with the first season recording a viewership of 82 million households, becoming the most-watched series on Netflix at the time of its premiere. It follows the Bridgerton siblings – Anthony (Jonathan Bailey), Benedict (Luke Thompson), Colin (Luke Newton), Daphne (Phoebe Dynevor), Eloise (Claudia Jessie), Francesca (Ruby Stokes), Gregory (Will Tilston), and Hyacinth (Florence Hunt) as they navigate society in search of love, surrounded by both friends and rivals. Each episode is narrated by actress Julie Andrews, who voices the anonymous and scandalous newsletter columnist known as Lady Whistledown, who possesses knowledge of all the information in London. On February 15, 2021, it was announced that Simone Ashley had been cast as Kate Sharma, the female lead for season 2 with Charithra Chandran joining the cast as her sister Edwina in addition to Rupert Young portraying a new character. In May 2021, Netflix ordered a limited prequel series from Rhimes that will focus on the rise and love life of a young Queen Charlotte. On May 14, 2021, it was announced that Jess Brownell would serve as writer and showrunner for the third and fourth seasons, replacing Van Dusen.
Pedal to Metal - Netflix
International Series: The opening shot of Pedal to Metal is the perfect way to introduce the series. With cars lining up to prepare for some drag racing and a DJ spinning some tunes, it’s the perfect introduction to this fast-paced show. It follows Kike Guerrero (Benny Emmanuel) and Noche Martinez (Andrés Delgado) who regularly race their modified Volkswagen on the illegal racing circuit. After an accident that killed the son of a highly influential businessman who has the police under his control, Kike and Noche drive to Mexico City where they are put to work at an auto shop that deals with stolen goods. Pedal to Metal brings a Mexican flavour to something like Fast & Furious, however, the auto-related parts of the series are not the highlight and instead the interesting part turns to the characters and their relationships. For the week of March 21 – March 27, 2022, Pedal to Metal cracked the tenth spot for Netflix’s Global Top 10 TV (Non-English) list with 8,150,000 hours viewed, however, it fell off for the week of March 28 – April 3, 2022. Time will tell if this series regains a spot on the Top 10.
