'Second wave' of Apple TV+ series doing better among viewers than initial shows

A year after Apple TV+ launched, its "second wave" of original series appears to be more popular among audiences than those available at the start.

The Apple streaming service largely got off to a slow start, with fairly underwhelmed audiences and lackluster adoption. However, new data from research firm Parrot Analytics suggests that Apple's later shows are doing better among viewers.

The top three most "in-demand" TV series on the Apple TV+ include "Defending Jacob," "Truth Be Told," and "Servant," the Parrot Analytics data (via Business Insider) suggests. None of those titles were day-one launches for the streaming service.

Apple's original shows "See" and "For All Mankind" filled out the top five in-demand shows, based on viewership, desire, and engagement by a series weighted by importance. Here's how the rest of the top 10 breaks down.

Credit: Parrot Analytics

Of course, critics and audiences often have different reactions to shows. For example reviews for the top six TV shows by audience demand range from terrible to lukewarm — except for "Servant," which carries an 83% Rotten Tomatoes critic score.

On the flip side, some of Apple's most critically acclaimed series, such as "Little America" and "Central Park," didn't make Parrot Analytics' top 10 list.

Apple has yet to release actual subscriber numbers for Apple TV+, but CEO Tim Cook said that the service was "off to a rousing start" during an earnings call in January. Analysts have suggested that the platform could hit 100 million subscribers by 2025.

According to a separate analytics firm, Antenna, Apple TV+ has largely seen sluggish subscriber growth. But it saw a spike in new subscribers ahead of the release of Tom Hanks film "Greyhound" in July.

8 Comments

multimedia 1030 comments · 23 Years

About 4 years ago

I’m still on my free year but I plan to annually renew for $50 a year next June when my free year is up. Love Tehron, Ted Lasso and Mythic Quest Raven’s Banquet. Haven’t tried the rest yet.

Rayz2016 6957 comments · 8 Years

Did anyone honestly think they were going to knock it out the park from day 1?

22july2013 3725 comments · 11 Years

Rayz2016 said:

Did anyone honestly think they were going to knock it out the park from day 1?

Not me. Money can't buy elections or viewers. Talent usually can. But talent and popularity, especially in the arts, are hard to predict. The first time I learned that was when the Fonz took over as the best character on "Happy Days." Then I re-learned it when a backup dancing pig became the second strongest character on The Muppets (Miss Piggy). Predicting zeitgeist is very difficult, which is why I cut media companies like Apple slack, and it seems to me that Billy Crudup's character portrayal in The Morning Show earned his Emmy because people enjoyed seeing his ability to predict zeitgeist. He seems to be the lens through which his show is being viewed, which is probably not what the writers intended (reminiscent of Miss Piggy and The Fonz.) In each case it's as if viewers at large are rebelling by liking something they aren't supposed to like.

Michsunshine 2 comments · 4 Years

I have watched Defending Jacob, Greyhound, and Bruce Springsteen shows. All excellent.

StrangeDays 12959 comments · 8 Years

I'm enjoying the second wave of shows, but we also really enjoyed the first -- Morning Show, For All Mankind, Servant, even binged See in a weekend altho it was a little cringy.