Social Wit List: January 2015

NEW YORK: In January, Lifetime's Whitney Houston TV movie Whitney generated the most buzz in social media of all the new programs that premiered globally, with some 358,000 tweets, according to The WIT.

The one-off was executive produced by Angela Bassett and chronicles the headline-making relationship between the iconic singer, actress, producer and model, and singer and songwriter Bobby Brown. The conversations on Facebook and Twitter coming from #WhitneyFans about the #UnauthorizedBiopic said that it was #NotTheTrueStory and that it featured #TooMuchAboutBobby.

Coming in second, FOX's Empire made a splash with approximately 281,000 tweets about the family drama set in the world of a hip-hop empire. Social media commenters were tweeting that the show was #Engaging, had a #GreatSoapyVibe, but was #NotEdgyEnough.

Another U.S. series, ABC's Marvel's Agent Carter, garnered around 115,000 social media comments. The action drama series brings back Captain America’s girlfriend Peggy Carter and chronicles her life as a budding secret agent after her boyfriend is stranded in ice. Buzz talk about the #MarvelFranchise centered on the show's #GreatCentralCharacter and #GreatCast.

L'emprise, a one-off on France's TF1, had around 91,000 comments in social media. The TV movie is based on the real-life story of a mother of four who was beaten and tortured by her husband for years. She ends up killing him. Considered a victim and not a killer, she was acquitted in 2012. Twitter and Facebook were buzzing about the #GreatCast, calling the program #Powerful and #Heartbreaking.

From Canale 5 in Italy, L'isola dei famosi is a new adaptation of the format Celebrity Survivor. A storm on the island caused Canale 5 to delay the official premiere by a week, airing just a half-hour segment on January 26, rather than a full three-hour episode. Those in social media were commenting on the #FalseStart and #Irony, also sending #LOLTweets. The program, which ranks number five on the list, drew around 74,000 tweets.

Another Lifetime one-off, With This Ring, generated some 70,000 comments, with #OMG and #LOLTweets about the #CrazyPlot. The romantic TV movie is based on the best seller The Vow, about three single friends who vow to get married within a year after attending their best friend's wedding.

There were around 57,000 tweets about MTV's Eye Candy, a thriller based on the R.L. Stine novel. The program centers on tech genius Lindy (Victoria Justice), who, after entering the world of online dating, begins to suspect that one of her mysterious suitors might be a deadly cyber stalker. Many in social media called Eye Candy #Thrilling and #Addictive, along with talking about its #FinalShocker and star #VictoriaJustice.

The U.K.'s Angry, White and Proud, a one-off doc that aired on Channel 4 about the world of far-right splinter groups, ranks eighth for the month. With 44,000 tweets, social media was buzzing with #AngryViewers about the #Disgusting #RacistIdiots the documentary features.

The Disney Channel comedy K.C. Undercover, which stars teen phenomenon Zendaya, stirred up social media conversations as well, with around 41,000 tweets. Much of this buzz talk was about #Zendaya, the #DisneyFanCraze and the #CatchPhrases delivered.

Rounding out the top ten for January is another one-off from the U.K.'s Channel 4: Cyberbully. The TV-movie thriller stars Maisie Williams (Game of Thrones) as a teenage girl battling an anonymous cyber-stalker in real-time from her bedroom. Around 33,000 tweets were sent regarding the broadcast, many of which were calling it #Breathtaking and #Sensitive and saying it featured #GreatActing.

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