Netflix’s Shadow and Bone Tops April’s Social Wit List

Shadow and Bone, a new Netflix series based on the Shadow and Bone and Six of Crows fantasy novels, has picked up the most followers on Instagram of all the new series that made their debut in April, according to The WIT.

Set in a world divided by a massive barrier of perpetual darkness in which unnatural creatures feast on human flesh, Shadow and Bone sees a young soldier uncover a power that could unite her country. The series picked up 362,000 followers on Instagram for April’s top spot. Among the cast of Shadow and Bone are Ben Barnes (1.4 million followers), Freddy Carter (505,000), Jessie Mei Li (382,000) and Archie Renaux (214,000).

Lo de Mariana, which bowed on Argentina’s Canal 13 last month, accumulated 299,000 Instagram followers for second place. The entertaining news magazine show presented by Mariana Fabbiani (2.2 million followers) combines news, famous guests, food and humor.

In third with 80,000 Instagram followers, Like House is a reality series that airs on Prima in the Czech Republic in which seven influencers—Marek Valášek (386,000 followers), Adam Kajumi (232,000), Jan Svěcený (122,000), Barbora Stříteská (119,000), Marie Rosecká (114,000), Lada Horová (113,000) and Tomáš Běhounek (80,000)—move into a villa together for three months. The winner, chosen by viewers via TikTok, receives CZK500,000 ($23,000).

The period drama series Bir Zamanlar Kıbrıs (Once Upon a Time in Cyprus) has picked up 75,000 followers for fourth place. Airing on TRT1 in Turkey, the series follows the fate of the Dereli family in 1963 after the “bloody Christmas” events that killed 134, including 108 Turkish Cypriots, and forced 20,000 people to leave their homes. Serkan Çayoğlu (4.3 million followers), Pelin Karahan (4.2 million), Ahmet Kural (1.3 million) and Gülper Özdemir (474,000) star.

Rounding out the top five with 59,000 followers, the revival of Wipeout launched on TBS in the U.S. on April 1 with John Cena (15 million followers) and Nicole Byer (680,000) as hosts. The physical game show features contestants competing in creative out-of-the-box obstacle courses.

An entertainment show that mixes fiction and reality, Princípio, Meio e Fim (Beginning, Middle and End) brings together five friends for dinner every week during which they perform a script. The show itself has 52,000 Instagram followers for sixth place, while the show’s creator, comedian Bruno Nogueira, boasts 751,000.

In seventh place this month with 51,000 followers, Spain’s adaptation of Love Island debuted on Neox last month. Hosted by Cristina Pedroche (2.9 million followers), it brings young and glamorous contestants to live in a beautiful villa in the Canary Islands, where they are in a race against time to couple up.

The thriller series Cruel Summer follows Kate Wallis, a popular girl with a charmed life who one day goes missing, and Jeanette Turner, a nerdy wannabe who is accused of being connected to Kate’s disappearance. The eighth-place series stars Olivia Holt (4.9 million followers), Froy Gutierrez (1.7 million), Harley Quinn Smith (281,000) and Chiara Aurelia (101,000) and has 48,000 Instagram followers of its own.

A local adaptation of the BBC One talent contest The Greatest Dancer, The Dancer bowed on La 1 in Spain last month and racked up 41,000 followers on Instagram for the ninth slot. Hosted by Sandra Cervera (84,000 followers) and Ion Aramendi (28,000), the format sees dancers of all ages and styles fighting to be crowned Spain’s greatest dancer.

La Previa de La Academia (La Academia Preview), a companion show launched in the run-up to the reality competition La Academia 2021, completes this month’s Wit List with 17,000 followers. Airing on Argentina’s Ciudad Magazine, it features exclusive content around the competition and interviews with candidates and judges. It’s hosted by Lourdes Sánchez (2.7 million followers) and Lizardo Ponce (1.3 million).

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