Ratings Report: ‘Winning Time’ Falls Flat While ‘The Swarm’ Makes A Splash
Broadcast: On September 12th, the German-produced science fiction drama The Swarm premiered on The CW to respectable viewership. In the P2+ demographic, The Swarm brought in 370,000 viewers with a rating of 0.12, while the P18-49 demographic saw 77,000 viewers with a rating of 0.06. On the following day, September 13th, The CW re-aired the premiere to nearly identical viewership. The P2+ demographic saw 361,000 viewers with a rating of 0.12 while the P18-49 demographic saw 72,000 viewers with a rating of 0.06. If The Swarm can retain the viewers it received for its premiere and subsequent re-airing, it could end up being one of The CW’s most popular series.
The Swarm is an adaptation of Frank Schätzing’s novel of the same name. It first premiered on the German network ZDF back in February of 2023 before The CW purchased the U.S. distribution rights in May of 2023. The Swarm is an ecological thriller that depicts mankind’s struggle to survive against an unknown swarm intelligence residing in the ocean’s depths. This threatening intelligence is able to manipulate sea life on a global scale, compelling these creatures to carry out devastating attacks on civilized society. The central cast of The Swarm includes Alexander Karim (The Wheel of Time, Tyrant, Zero Dark Thirty), Cécile de France (High Tension, Hereafter, The Spanish Apartment), and Leonie Benesch (The White Ribbon, The Teachers’ Lounge, Babylon Berlin).
Cable: HBO’s biographical sports drama Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty will not be getting a third season. Though not as strong as season one, the reception for season two has been mostly positive; however, weak viewership has caused HBO to pull the plug on this Adam McKay produced project. On September 3rd, Winning Time only brought in 102,000 viewers in the P2+ demographic with a rating of 0.03 and only 37,000 viewers in the P18-49 demographic with a rating of 0.03. September 10th saw both of these numbers drop further, with the P2+ group falling to 93,000 viewers and the P18-49 group falling to 31,000 viewers.
Winning Time is based on Jeff Pearlman’s book Showtime: Magic, Kareem, Riley, and the Los Angeles Lakers Dynasty of the 1980s. The series follows the Los Angeles Lakers during the early 1980’s with a strong focus on rookie Magic Johnson and the impact he had on the organization. Other athletes represented in the series include Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Norm Nixon, and Jerry West. Though the events of the series are based on reality, the creators have gone on record emphasizing that it is a dramatization of history and therefore contains inaccuracies. These historical inaccuracies have garnered criticism from many of the real-world athletes depicted in the series. Controversy combined with its inability to find a loyal audience has ultimately led to the abrupt cancellation of this latest high-profile HBO series. Winning Time has an expansive cast including Quincy Isaiah (A Black Lady Sketch Show, Corporate Coffee), Jason Clarke (Oppenheimer, Zero Dark Thirty, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes), DeVaughn Nixon (The Bodyguard, Terminator 2: Judgement Day, Snowfall), and Solomon Hughes (Guns Up).
Streaming: Following the conclusion of Servant after four critically praised seasons, The Changeling is Apple TV+’s latest entry into the horror thriller genre. First premiering on September 8th, The Changeling currently has five episodes available of what will ultimately be an eight-episode season. This new horror series is already receiving relatively positive critical reception, earning a 66% on Rotten Tomatoes with an even higher audience score of 76%. The Changeling has been praised for its strong and nuanced performances, especially that of the series lead, LaKeith Stanfield (Atlanta, Sorry To Bother You, Knives Out). At this time a second season has not yet been announced.
The Changeling is based on Victor LaValle’s novel of the same name. The series follows used book dealer Apollo Kagwa as he searches for his missing wife who vanished after committing a horrific act following the birth of their first child. Set in a darkly fantastical version of New York City, The Changeling sees Apollo navigate the five boroughs in hopes of recovering his abducted child. In addition to Stanfield, The Changeling stars Clark Backo (Letterkenny, The Handmaid’s Tale, Designated Survivor) and Adina Porter (American Horror Story, True Blood, The Newsroom).
South Korea: On KBS, one of South Korea’s free-to-air stations, audiences can find the new series My Lovely Boxer. Now about halfway through its debut season, episodes five and six averaged 644,000 viewers when they aired on September 4th and 5th respectively. Episodes seven and eight aired the following week to an average of 506,000 viewers per episode, demonstrating a notable drop off. My Lovely Boxer follows a young female boxing prodigy who, after finding great success in the sport, disappears to live a quieter life. After three years of being off the grid, this peace is interrupted when a cold-blooded sports agent makes it his mission to bring her back to boxing. My Lovely Boxer stars Kim So-hye (Geunyeoui Bucket List, Guimoon: The Lightless Door, The Child Who Would Not Come) and Lee Sang-yeob (Eve, On the Verge of Insanity, Once Again).
On JTBC, one of South Korea’s pay-to-watch stations, audiences can find the debut season of Destined With You. Episodes five and six aired on September 6th and 7th respectively and averaged 907,200 viewers per episode. Episodes seven and eight aired the following week and brought in an average of 974,400 viewers, demonstrating a slight increase in viewership. This romantic fantasy series follows a successful lawyer whose life is thrown into shambles as a result of a centuries old curse. He soon learns that the only chance he has of breaking this curse lies with a civil servant who is far more important than her unassuming life would have others believe. Destined With You stars Rowoon (Tomorrow, The King’s Affection, She Would Never Know) and Jo Bo-ah (Tale of the Nine Tailed, Forest, My Strange Hero) and is available to stream on Netflix.
South Africa: The month of August saw viewership for some of South Africa’s most popular series hold steady. SABC1 remains the nation’s most popular station with Uzalo as its most watched series with an average of 5.203 million viewers per episode. On the same network, Skeem Saam averaged 4.552 million viewers per episode followed by Generations: The Legacy with an average 4.267 million viewers per episode. On SABC2, Muvhango averaged 1.424 million viewers while 7de Laan averaged 1.053 million viewers. ETV’s Scandal saw an average of 4.621 million viewers an episode, outperforming House of Zwide which averaged 3.955 million viewers an episode. Finally, DStv’s Gomora and The River averaged 654,456 and 571,971 viewers per episode, respectively.
United Kingdom: Coronation Street continues to be one of the UK’s most watched dramas. Between August 14th and August 20th this long-running series averaged 4.438 million viewers across its three new episodes. Emmerdale, another one of ITV1’s long-running dramas, averaged 3.931 million viewers across its five new episodes during this week. BBC1’s EastEnders was not far behind, averaging 3.300 million viewers across its four new episodes. The following week the average viewership for Coronation Street dropped to 4.190 million viewers per episode, still enough to outperform the competition. During this week Emmerdale averaged 3.820 million viewers per episode while EastEnders averaged 3.205 million viewers per episode. The E4 original series Hollyoaks averaged 251,000 viewers across its five new episodes during this week.