Upfronts 2018 Social Buzz: NBC's 'New Amsterdam,' CW's 'Charmed' Reboot See Early Lead Among New Shows

Which series from the cavalcade rolled out at the 2018 broadcast TV upfronts are poised to pop in primetime?

NBC’s new medical drama “New Amsterdam” and The CW’s reboot of “Charmed” are among the top social-media darlings of the moment, if data about their initial reception online is any indication — although sometimes, it isn’t a terrific predictor.

This year, “New Amsterdam” is showing early signs it could be a breakout hit, according to data-analytics firm ListenFirst Media. The new series ranked in the top three among all shows presented during the 2018 TV broadcast upfronts across organic conversation, social engagement, video views, and positive sentiment, as measured over the past week.

The social profile of “New Amsterdam” is “similar​ to the​ trend we saw with NBC’s ‘This Is Us’ during the 2016-17 TV upfronts season,” said Jason Klein, ListenFirst’s co-CEO. Indeed, the network has slotted “New Amsterdam” on Tuesdays at 10 p.m. — with “This Is Us” as a lead-in. “​New Amsterdam” fans​ are 62% ​female, and 45% are between the ages of 25-34, according to Twitter data analyzed by ListenFirst.

Meanwhile, social engagement for NBC’s ​mystery-thriller “Manifest,” from executive producer Robert Zemeckis, also was high during upfronts week, with the program ​ranking in the top five across key social metrics — organic conversation, social engagement, and video views.

The biggest​ driver for “Manifest” is its Facebook audience, driven by the trailer shared on the platform​, which has 16 million views and over 80,000 shares in the last week.​ ​​Chatter related to ​the trailer have compared the show to “Lost” and “The 4400.”

In addition, ABC’s new drama “A Million Little Things” ranked in the top 10 across organic interest, social engagement, and video views, according to ListenFirst. Fans have compared it to “This Is Us,” with data showing the emotional trailer for “A Million Little Things” proving a tearjerker for many viewers.

Among other shows, the CW’s “Legacies,” a supernatural spinoff of “The Originals,” also is driving significant social engagement.

In addition, ABC’s “Murphy Brown” reboot is seeing a similar trend in social activity that ABC’s “Roseanne” in the wake of the 2017 TV upfronts, according to ListenFirst. “Murphy Brown” fans (women 35 and older) have gone on social media to express how much this show meant to them growing up​ and ​how excited they are to watch the new iteration, the company found.

All that said, shows that register with a bang on social media don’t always turn into TV hits. Right now, the most that TV fans have to go on are trailers and show synopses.

Here’s the breakdown of the top 10 new shows from the upfronts, ranked by overall interest and by social engagement, from ListenFirst:

Interest Score: 2018 Broadcast TV Upfronts New Series

Note: Measure of conversation volume (mentions and hashtag) on Twitter, Facebook​, Google+​, search, and Wikipedia page views from May 14-20, 2018.

Social-Engagement Score: 2018 Broadcast TV Upfronts New Series

Note: Volume of post reactions (likes, shares, comments, retweets) across official TV pages on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Tumblr and Google+ from May 14-20, 2018.

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