Social Wit List: July 2015

NEW YORK: In July, of all the new shows to launch globally, Syfy's Sharknado 3: Oh Hell No! stirred up the most buzz in social media, with some 337,000 tweets.

The third installment in the movie franchise, in which a tornado unleashes sharks from Washington, D.C. to Orlando, Florida, drew plenty of #LOLTweets. Many in social media were commenting about the #AprilLivesOrDiesCliffhanger and calling the broadcast #EventTV.

Number two on the list of the top ten buzz-generating shows for the month is I Am Cait, the brand-new E! docuseries that follows Bruce Jenner living his life as a transgender woman named Cait, and explores what the transition means for the people in his life. Social media was buzzing, with some 94,000 tweets, about the #InspiringTV broadcast, and how it promotes #Awareness and #LGBTQPower.

The Spanish talent show ¡Vaya Fauna! on Telecinco drew around 81,000 tweets. In each episode, ten gifted pets perform in front of a jury and studio audience for a €25,000 cash prize. Many commenters were #Bashing the broadcast for its #AnimalMistreatment, though the #TeenJudges did drum up some #FanCraze.

On TV Globo in Brazil, Tomara que caia also garnered around 81,000 social media comments. The show sees two teams of comedians battle it out in a comedy act duel. Viewers vote via an app to choose the best team. Those tweeting about the broadcast said they were having #DejaVu and called it #NotFunny.

MTV's one-off broadcast of White People, a documentary by journalist and filmmaker Jose Antonio Vargas that explores the ways in which young white people perceive their racial identity in America today, comes in at number five. Within the approximately 74,000 tweets, social media had #DividedOpinions about the #HotDebate and #BurningTopic.

Another Spanish series on Telecinco, Pasaporte a la isla, made the list. The series watches as 12 celebrities live together in a villa in Spain, competing against each other in challenges as they vie for a spot in the next edition of the format Celebrity Survivor. Around 52,000 tweets went out on Facebook and Twitter, with many talking about the #CheapFormat, how the show has the #SameHostAsUsual and features #NotRealCelebs.

Disney Channel's Descendants, a contemporary live-action adventure-comedy introducing the progeny of Disney's most evil villains as modern-day teenagers, had around 46,000 social media comments. The Twitter and Facebook comments were about the #CultDisneyUniverse and #IconicVillains, with many commenters saying the broadcast was #Awesome.

Turkey's local adaptation of the ABC Family series Pretty Little Liars also made waves in social media, with around 38,000 tweets. Tatli Küçük Yalancilar, which airs on Star TV, follows the plot of four estranged best friends who begin receiving messages from an anonymous "A" who knows all their secrets, one year after the queen bee of their group went missing. There was plenty of #PLLFanPower on Facebook and Twitter, with kudos going out to the show for the #NiceWork on its #AmendedPlot, which had elements that were #Scary.

Lip sync Chile, duelo de famosos, which aired on TVN in Chile, had some 36,000 tweets. It is a local adaptation of Spike's Lip Sync Battle, based on a segment from The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon on NBC. Many in social media thought it was a #Disappointment and #NotCool and that it was an #ExactCopyofUSversion.

Capping off the list at number ten is Knock Knock Live, which aired on FOX in the U.S. The series sees Ryan Seacrest host in a Los Angeles-based studio as his team travels across the country, surprising people at their front doors with a chance to win big cash prizes, meet their favorite celebrities and turn their wildest dreams into reality. There were some 36,000 comments about the broadcast in social media, with Facebook and Twitter buzzing that the show was #OverEmotional and #Staged.

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