While Twitter can often appear to be one of the most negative destinations on the Internet, the social media service is also a good source of information when it comes to measuring entertainment value, since users are quick to share every opinion about every movie, TV show, song, and more. We now have a list of the top ten trending TV shows that Twitter users obsessed over in 2016, and while some are no-brainers (a pun), big surprises are included as well. Check it out!
1. #GameOfThrones (Game of Thrones)2. #TheWalkingDead (The Walking Dead)3. #GreysAnatomy (Grey's Anatomy)4. #DescendantsOfTheSun (Descendants of the Sun)5. #MasterChefbr (Masterchef Brasil)6. #OITNB (Orange is the New Black)7. #StrangerThings (Stranger Things)8. #Empire (Empire)9. #TheVoice (The Voice)10. #Bbb16 (Big Brother Brasil)
First off, I have a small thimble here, in case we need a place to store all of our surprise and shock over Game of Thrones and The Walking Dead taking the first and second spots, respectively. Both cable dramas have been two of the most-watched shows year in and year out, both on linear TV and on other platforms. It would be far stranger for them to have not appeared at the very top. And Grey's Anatomy, which has had one of TV's most steady audiences for a while now, is only slightly more unexpected than the other two.
But our first big "wow" entry comes with #4, South Korea's Descendants of the Sun. The genre-bending series debuted this year, introducing audiences to a story that mixes Special Forces action with romance and comedy, and by the middle of the season, Descendants of the Sun became the most-watched show in the country. It has already been broadcast in 32 other countries, which has definitely helped its Twitter appeal.
We might as well talk about the other two big surprises on the list, which would be Masterchef Brasil and Big Brother Brasil, which came in fifth and tenth place, respectively. I love that there are three international series on here, and I couldn't have guessed that two would come from the same country. Brazil. Big Brother Brasil is more understandable, since the show is a ratings champ there, with many millions tuning in on a weekly basis, though Masterchef Brasil doesn't exactly slouch in the viewership. And it's clear that fans of those reality competition shows love taking their thoughts about the many contestant to the Twitter-sphere.
Rounding out the rest of the list are one veteran Netflix show, one breakout Netflix debut, network TV's scripted juggernaut and a network competition known for utilizing hashtags. Considering how wild Season 4 of Orange is the New Black got, with its major shocks and crazy ending, it makes complete sense to see that up there, as well as Stranger Things, the sci-fi horror that blew everyone's minds with how big of a summer hit it became. (Big enough to inspire kid names, even.)
Empire, one of the biggest ratings successes in recent TV history, always delivers twists and big moments for people to talk about online, so Cookie's popularity on Twitter is easy to grasp. And then there's The Voice, which has always used Twitter for audience voting, but changed things up this year by giving fans its first same-night voting and elimination, which helped to drive up those numbers.
What shows were you tweeting about the most? And what do you think will take over hashtag culture in 2017? Check out our midseason premiere schedule to see some of the shows that could take the top honor.
