WORLD SCREEN
Girls Planet 999, a new talent contest that launched on Mnet in South Korea last month, picked up the most followers on Instagram of all the new series that made their debut in August, according to The WIT.
Hosted by Korean actor Yeo Jin-goo (4 million followers), Girls Planet 999 follows 99 female Korean, Chinese and Japanese contestants who have the same dream of debuting in an idol group despite having different languages and cultures. The show, which has 395,000 Instagram followers, features K-pop idols Tiffany Young (10.1 million) and Sunmi (7.4 million) as mentors.
In second place with 386,000 followers, Marvel’s What If is an animated series that’s inspired by the comic books of the same name. Each episode features an alternative story in the Marvel universe and imagines how things could have happened if the characters had made different choices at some point in their lives. The voice cast for the Disney+ series includes Hayley Atwell (1.5 million followers), Seth Green (1.2 million) and Stanley Tucci (877,000).
The Latin American adaptation of the dating format Power of Love, El poder del amor Latin America takes third place with 212,000 followers on Instagram. Airing on Canal 1 in Colombia, the series sees nine men and nine women from all across Latin American seek love and try to win a grand prize. It’s hosted by actress and model Vanessa Claudio, who has 2 million followers.
The Masked Singer Brasil (194,000 followers), which airs on Brazil’s TV Globo is August’s fourth-place title. Hosted by singer Ivete Sangalo (33 million followers), the local adaptation of The King of Mask Singer sees 12 singers, artists and other celebrities take the stage wearing masks to disguise themselves.
Streaming on Hulu and Disney+, Only Murders in the Building is a comedy series from This Is Us creator Dan Fogelman. Set in New York and following three strangers who share an obsession with true crime who suddenly find themselves wrapped up in one, the series stars Steve Martin, Martin Short and Selena Gomez (258 million followers). It takes the fifth spot with 79,000 followers on Instagram.
Brat Loves Judy bowed on WE tv in the U.S. last month and has picked up 60,000 followers for sixth place. The reality series follows hip-hop artist Da Brat and her girlfriend Jesseca “Judy” Dupart, the multimillionaire business owner and CEO of Kaleidoscope Hair Products, as they navigate their relationship. Da Brat has 3 million followers on Instagram, while Dupart has 1.8 million.
The romantic-comedy telenovela #PobreNovio (Poor Groom) centers on Santiago, a young man who is dumped by his future wife at the altar and is turned into a celebrity in the aftermath. With 51,000 followers for seventh place, the series stars Francisca Walker (450,000 followers) and Etienne Bobenrieth (221,000). It airs on Mega in Chile.
In eighth place with 44,000 followers, the FX and Hulu comedy series Reservation Dogs follows four Native teenagers in rural Oklahoma who spend their days committing crime—and fighting it. Created by Taika Waititi (2.6 million followers) and Sterlin Harjo (31,600), it stars Devery Jacobs (181,000).
El Retador (The Challenger) is a talent competition format in which three superstar-quality champions are chosen in the first episode across singing, dancing and impersonation categories. In every episode, talented hopefuls try to steal their seat. Singers Lucero (3.4 million followers), actress Itatí Cantoral (2.4 million) and singer Manuel Mijares (615,000) serve as judges in the ninth-place title, which airs on Las Estrellas in Mexico. It has 33,000 Instagram followers.
Rounding out August’s Wit List, İkimizin Sırrı (Our Secret) has picked up 31,000 followers since premiering on ATV in Turkey. The drama series is adapted from the Korean format Marriage Contract and tells the story of a young mother and her 7-year-old daughter, whose fates change when she meets a man in a traffic accident. Aras Aydın (577,000 followers) and Leyla Feray (176,000) star.
Sign up here to receive the Social Wit List in your inbox every month.
