Social Wit List: May 2015

NEW YORK: In May, ABS-CBN's Pangako Sa 'Yo was the most-buzzed-about new program to debut globally, with some 242,000 Facebook and Twitter comments, according to The WIT.

The Philippines' Pangako Sa 'Yo is a remake of the romantic telenovela of the same name that aired on ABS-CBN from 2000 to 2002. It is the love story of the rebellious son of a powerful politician and the simple but beautiful adopted daughter of a retired policeman. Social media comments centered on the #FanCraze from the #Nostalgia, with many commenting that it was #Cinematic and #Engaging.

Number two on the top ten most-buzzed-about new shows in social media last month is NBC's one-off special Red Nose Day. The U.S. version of the charity show born in the U.K. aired on NBC. It was created in collaboration with various child-oriented charity partners and featured original content from Funny or Die. Around 239,000 tweets went out about the #Fun and #Emotional broadcast, with the #GOTColdplaySkit stirring up a good amount of buzz.

From TV Globo in Brazil, I Love Paraisópolis is a telenovela about a young female bodyguard who makes a career of taking care of the children of rich families. There were around 92,000 tweets sent out in social media, notably about the #FunPlot and #GoodLookingCast in the #FastPaced novela.

Stars 80, le concert aired on TF1 in France live from the Stade de France. The nostalgia-filled concert featured hit songs performed by French idols from the '80s. Of the 88,000 comments in social media, many were #LOLTweets, talking about the #Nostalgia and saying it was #PartyTime.

Coming in at number five is The Voice Chile, a local adaptation of the singing contest The Voice that aired on Canal 13. The #EngagingCompetition drew around 83,000 tweets, with some commenters noting that there were #TooManySobStories.

Another drama from Philippines, GMA Network's The Rich Man's Daughter, garnered approximately 37,000 tweets. The telenovela is about a rich man who finds out that his daughter is a lesbian. He offers five million pesos to a man who will marry her, hurling the whole family into a series of discoveries. Those commenting on social media were giving #Kudos to the #Riveting #OMG moments in the show.

The TV movie Cleveland Abduction, which aired on Lifetime in the U.S., had some 35,000 social media comments about the broadcast. The features explores the true story of Michelle Knight, a 21-year-old single mom who was held hostage in a Cleveland home for more than ten years. The buzz in social media about the #Shocking  #TrueStory was that there was #Respect for the woman who endured the capture and survived.

The Island: Seuls au monde on M6 in France also stirred up quite a bit of buzz, with some 33,000 tweets. The local adaptation of the Channel 4 adventure factual series The Island With Bear Grylls sees a survival expert challenges a group of 13 contestants to survive, while filming themselves, on a desert island for one month. Commenters were calling it a #GreatSurvivalShow but said it might have been #ABitTooLong and were skeptical that the contestants were #NotReallyFilmingThemselves.

The period telenovela La poseída on TVN in Chile also notched up around 33,000 tweets. The story charts the legend of a woman allegedly possessed by evil spirits, who would only be controlled by a priest as he read the Gospel. The buzz was about the #GoodLocalProduction and #FascinatingStory.

The new NBC drama Aquarius, which stars David Duchovny as a Los Angeles police sergeant with a complicated personal life who starts chasing an emerging Charles Manson in California in the late '60s, rounds out the list at number ten. Drawing some 32,000 tweets, the debut broadcast had fans #BingeWatching the #Exciting and #Fascinating episode. Many in social media were excited to #WelcomeBackDuchovny to TV.

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