WHAT WERE THE MOST DEMANDED SERIES IN THE USA DURING JANUARY?

In its latest study about SVOD demand in the United States, Parrot Analytics revealed which were the most outstanding series in the country during January. The company contextualized each title within the market by stating the show's performance as a difference from the average demand for a series in the market. A difference of 1x represents the market average and 10x means a series is ten times more in demand than the average TV show in this market.

In the first month of 2021, the most in-demand digital original series in the United States was Netflix's “Cobra Kai”. The first two seasons of the “Karate Kid” reboot debuted on YouTube Originals, but Netflix acquired the series in June of 2020, when demand for the show skyrocketed thanks to being available to a massive new audience.

Netflix moved up the release of season 3 to January 1, 2021, and demand for the series reached unprecedented levels upon its debut. In fact, it hit an incredible 139.4x more demand than the average show in the United States for the week of January 3-9, 2021. “Cobra Kai” maintained an exceptional level of demand throughout the month, finishing with 102.1x more demand than the average show in the country for the full month of January.

Disney+'s flagship original “The Mandalorian” held strong in second place at 77.8x more demand than the average series, but this was a steep decline compared to December, when it scored a 132.2x mark as the final episodes of season 2 became available. The show’s success also continues to prop up US demand for animated Star Wars series “The Clone Wars,” which finished in fourth place in January despite not airing any new episodes since May 4, 2020.

The most successful new entrant to the US top ten was Disney+'s highly anticipated “WandaVision,” the first of several live action Marvel Cinematic Universe series that will debut on the platform this year. “WandaVision” aired its first two episodes on January 15, and despite only being available for half the month, it still finished January in sixth place, with 33.7x more demand than the average show in the United States. As more episodes of “WandaVision” continue to be released in February and early March, Parrot expects the series to grow its demand with US audiences.

Historical drama “The Crown,” which has just earned several Gloden Globe nominations for its fourth season, held onto seventh place, but was down 28% compared to the month of December.

Sci-fi, fantasy and superhero genre fare continues to have a grip on US audiences, with mainstays “Stranger Things” (third place - 51.6x), “Titans” (fifth place - 36.3x), “The Expanse” (eighth place - 32.1x), “The Witcher” (ninth place - 30.7x), and “Star Trek: Discovery” (tenth place - 30.5x) rounding out the top ten in the United States for January.