‘The Good Doctor’ has a healthy buzz
Survey of new series shows it’s getting the most, and most positive, talk among viewers
One reason why ABC’s The Good Doctor shows hit potential: Not only are ratings solid, but viewers like what they see.
That’s the result of Engagement Labs’ annual survey of TV buzz, shared exclusively with USA TODAY, that can predict the longevity of the 20 new series premiering on broadcast networks this fall.
The survey was conducted Sept. 25 to Oct. 1, the first week of the TV season, and asked a representative sample of 1,450 Americans, ages 13 to 69, about conversations they’ve had about new network series, primarily by phone and face to face.
ABC’s The Good Doctor, which ranked fourth in preseason chatter, climbed to first place during premiere week, a status borne out by early strong ratings for the show. The medical drama, also the subject of the most positive buzz, surpassed NBC’s revival of Will & Grace, which ranked first in the weeks leading up to its premiere. (The two are also the only newcomers that appeared on Nielsen’s list of top 10 shows ranked by Facebook and Twitter interactions.)
The Will premiere “was a very political episode,” says Engagement Labs VP Maggie Fos- dick, so there was “a lot more mixed conversation after the episode (aired) than there was in the weeks leading up” to it. Other shows generated the most talk included Star Trek: Discovery, which aired its premiere episode on CBS before moving to a streaming service and was tops among men; and the network’s SEAL Team, starring David Boreanaz. CBS’ Young Shel- don, a spinoff of The Big Bang Theory, ranked third in terms of overall chatter but just sixth in positive sentiment. But another CBS comedy, Bobby Moynihan’s Me, Myself & I, had the most negative buzz of any new series last week, a possible predictor of a ratings falloff.
It was followed by mixed-tonegative reaction for ABC’s Inhumans, a new Marvel series that earned the ire of most TV critics, and The Mayor, which had not yet premiered.