The WIT Analysis: CBS

NEW YORK: Kevin Williamson’s new series Stalker with Maggie Q and Dylan McDermott was the most-commented-on show in social media for CBS’s 2014-15 slate, according to analysis from media research company The WIT.

The Wednesday night psychological thriller from Warner Bros. Television led social-media interest in the new CBS series, with about 10,000 Facebook likes and some 100,000 views for the trailer. The WIT notes that overall social-media interest in CBS was lower than the other networks, largely due to the broadcaster’s slightly older audience demographic. Stalker has fewer YouTube views than the least sampled NBC show (A to Z), according to the research company.

“Although the engagement is still quite low, the online crowd is positive about the scary vibe of the trailer and trust Kevin Williamson’s creepy vision,” says Caroline Servy of The WIT. “They also predict a good chemistry between McDermott and Maggie Q, who maintains a large fanbase from Nikita.”

Second in terms of Facebook conversation is the new Sunday night political drama Madam Secretary with Tea Leoni. Repped by CBS Studios International, the show was third in terms of YouTube views (about 68,000) for CBS. “Conversations around CBS’s new heroine drama reveal some potential in the ‘empowered women’ trend set by Scandal or The Good Wife,” says Servy. Social-media comments indicate interest in the show and reflect positively on Leoni’s portrayal of the title character, “although little excitement is felt and the engagement is still quite low,” Servy adds. “Some not-so-enthusiastic comments refer to a lack of gravitas and viewer expectations for a grittier/harder-hitting political drama.”

NCIS: New Orleans should benefit from the strong viewership levels of the two other shows in that franchise, even though its social-engagement level is quite low, The WIT says. The comparatively low number of YouTube views (about 57,000) can be attributed to the broadcast of the backdoor pilot earlier this month.

Scorpion, directed by Fast and Furious’s Justin Lin, meanwhile, registered some 95,000 YouTube views of the trailer, but that failed to inspire traction on the show’s Facebook and Twitter pages, The WIT says.

On the comedy front, the most-discussed show for CBS was The McCarthys, with about 5,000 Facebook likes and some 84,000 YouTube views. “The first comments are quite polarized (love/hate), with a majority of skeptical comments about the writing, the settings, the canned laughter…which are all considered out of date,” says Servy. “On the positive side, some like the humor or commented on the presence of Joey McIntyre—a.k.a. the youngest member of New Kids on the Block.”

For more on the upcoming U.S. fall season, check out our network-by-network and studio-by-studio recap here.