The WIT Analysis: NBC

NEW YORK: The emotional comedy drama This is Us generated the most social-media buzz among the new shows unveiled by NBC at its Upfront last week, according to analysis from The WIT.

The network is adding just three series in the fall, with several more slated for midseason. This is Us was among the three trailers released by the network on Monday.

With The Voice‘s results show as a strong lead-in on Tuesday nights (the same slot successfully occupied by Blindspot last season), the modern dramedy This is Us (Twentieth Century Fox) comes from the team behind the feature film Crazy, Stupid, Love. It’s on top of NBC’s watch list for next season with 46 million cumulated views for the official trailer, as counted on its official Facebook page plus the official NBC YouTube playlist for the new fall shows. This is Us also has the biggest Facebook/Twitter fan base among all new network shows to date, excluding series like Prison Break and 24: Legacy using a pre-existing account. Over the first seven days following NBC’s Upfronts, more than 3,200 tweets were measured with the official hashtag.

“People have instantly developed a strong emotional attachment to the drama (many of them even claiming the trailer made them cry!), which is quite interesting at such an early stage,” says The WIT’s Caroline Servy. “And as emotions need to be shared, it is interesting to note that the impressive buzz around this series is growing thanks to Facebook, where the trailer has been shared over 312,000 times, versus 32,000 shares for Timeless‘s trailer on Facebook, while both shows have comparable viewing figures on YouTube. People raise great expectations for the series, highly empathize with the expectant couple formed by Mandy Moore and Milo Ventimiglia, and praise the network for straying from the procedural/legal/medical drama genre and getting back to the Parenthood vibe.”

Second on NBC’s buzz list is Timeless (Sony Pictures Television), starring Abigail Spencer, about the battle against a mysterious villain who steals a time machine in order to rewrite history. It logged 14.3 million trailer views as of May 23 on its official platforms (Facebook and YouTube). The show also generated more than 3,700 tweets with the official hashtag over seven days, and some 1,000 followers on its official Twitter handle. On Facebook it secured 7,500 likes.

Servy says that early indicators show that people are interested in the series’ time-traveling premise. “On a more skeptical note, there is a concern about the originality of the series or the script in itself. Spanish-speaking users are quite angry about the similarities with beloved Spanish drama El Ministerio del Tiempo.” And American viewers had comparisons of their own, “and still wonder what this newcomer in the ‘time travel’ genre will bring to the game.”

From the people behind Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Parks & Recreation and The Office comes The Good Place (NBCUniversal), NBC’s most anticipated comedy so far for the fall season. The Kristen Bell and Ted Danson single-camera comedy has reached nearly 6.4 million views for the trailer on its Facebook and YouTube channels, and is also the fourth most-followed on Facebook and Twitter among the new NBC shows as of today.

Servy says that comments about the show were largely positive, especially those regarding the performance by Bell. Prospective audiences are also confident in showrunner Mike Schur. “The concern so far is more about the durability of the show, as some would have better imagined this idea turned into a movie, and wonder how their interest will be maintained over a full season.”

Some of the midseason shows without trailers were also able to gain some Twitter traction. The midseason comedy Powerless—set in the DC Comics universe and starring Vanessa Hudgens as a young insurance adjuster who assists regular people after they’ve sustained damage caused by crime-fighting superheroes—notched up 4,000-plus tweets with the official hashtag over the first seven days following NBC’s Upfronts. When looking purely at Twitter interaction, Powerless is NBC’s most commented-on show.