Social Wit List: January 2017

NEW YORK: Of all the new programs that launched globally in January, BET’s The New Edition Story stirred up the most buzz on social media, according to The WIT.

The biographical miniseries about 1980s boy band New Edition follows the group from their humble beginnings in Boston to global megastardom. With 356,000 comments on Facebook and Twitter, the program ranks number one on the list of the top ten most-buzzed-about new shows in social media last month. The #NostalgicAudience tweeting about the premiere was #CravingMore of the #AmazingCast.

Coming in second, with 153,000 tweets, is TPMP fait du ski, which aired on C8 in France. The entertainment special saw the whole crew of the hit panel show Touche pas à mon poste go to a ski resort in the French Alps. The combination of #FunSegments and #HilariousPranks had social media buzzing, as did the #ExcitingPrizefortheAudience.

From ATV in Turkey, Ölene Kadar (Eternal) is a thriller about a man condemned to a prison sentence for a crime he did not commit. He loses the love of his life and comes back to seek revenge. The drama’s debut generated around 89,000 comments on social media, with much #Kudos for the #Cinematic and #Breathtaking production.

Africa Magic debuted a new Nigerian adaptation of the Big Brother format, following a first season that aired on M-Net in 2006. Big Brother Naija saw some 72,000 tweets around its premiere, with an #EngagedAudience talking about the #PrettyFaces and comedy that led to #LOLTweets.

The premiere of Jo pregunto on TV3 in Spain had around 57,000 comments. The live broadcast was from a theater in Catalunya in which the president of the Catalan government answered questions submitted by citizens via social media or video. The #Polemical response from some on social media involved the #BiasedQuestions or #BadChoiceofQuestioners in a debate of #CatalunyavsSpain.

The one-off Taking the Stage: African American Music and Stories That Changed America, which aired on ABC in the U.S., drew around 56,000 tweets. The star-studded special celebrating the opening of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture had at-home viewers tweeting about the #EcstaticAudience, #GreatActs and the #Emotional #FarewellPOTUS.

Riverdale‘s debut on The CW in the U.S. had some 50,000 comments on Facebook and Twitter. The modern take on the classic Archie comics revolves around the love triangle between high school student Archie Andrews, girl-next-door Betty Cooper and rich socialite Veronica Lodge…with a murder mystery in the background. A #DividedAudience was tweeting about the #AmazingCast and #Addictive plot that is #NothingLiketheComics.

Saturday Night Live on M6 in France is a new local adaptation of the long-running American sketch show, which was previously formatted by Canal+ in 2003. Of the approximately 49,000 social-media comments, some said it was #WorthyofAdmiration while others thought there was #WeakHumor, only #OneGreatSkit and #TooManyEthnicCliches.

Meant to Be‘s debut on GMA in the Philippines got much #Kudos online, with some 47,000 tweets. The telenovela starring Barbie Forteza and Ken Chan follows the adventures of a young woman with whom four boys fell in love. #KenBieCouple was a trending topic, as was the #RomanticQuotes.

With around 46,000 tweets, number ten on the list for January is Despedida de solteros, which premiered on Telefe in Argentina. In this reality competition 12 couples about to wed live in two separate houses for five months, under the surveillance of the whole country—and their partner—as they vie for a wedding ceremony, a honeymoon and a house. There was buzz on social media was about the #TrashyComments and the fact that there is #NoGayCouple! but the overall consensus was that the show is a #FunWatch.

Want this info in your inbox every month? Sign up for the Social Wit List from World Screen and The WIT here.