With Dark Matter‘s first season off to – by all accounts – a rollicking star on Netflix, I wanted to look back on the show’s performance to date. Specifically, I wanted to look at the show’s overall performance. Which, at the end of the day, is easier said than done.
Over on SyFy, Dark Matter is (the last time I checked) the #2 original scripted show on the network, and holds the #3 spot in the oft-discussed “key demo” (averaging 0.24, just a tick behind the #2 spot averaging 0.25).
Internationally, the news was even better, with Dark Matter pulling in BIG numbers in territories like the U.K., Australia, Portugal and (closer to home) Canada!
When it comes to downloads, however, the results are a little…murkier. How many downloads from the network websites? iTunes? Other legitimate sources? I don’t have that information.
How about illegitimate sources? Well, ironically, that information is a little more handy. According to thedrum.com, Dark Matter was one of the top ten most pirated shows in June, July, and August. The September analysis is forthcoming, but I expect the results will be similar.
On the one hand, I’m heartened to see there are so many smart, tech-savvy viewers out there checking out the show. On the other hand, all those “other” smart, tech-savvy viewers don’t really factor into the show’s renewal prospects.
Still, Dark Matter‘s online popularity suggests that our creative approach to the show’s narrative has paid off as expected. We set out to create a character-driven series that built dramatically over the course of its 13 episode first season run, setting up mysteries, paying them off, peppering each story with twists, turns, and surprises, building momentum toward our shocking finale. In other words, we wanted to create a binge-worthy series that viewers HAD to keep watching – and, overall, it appears we’ve succeeded.
My hope is that, between now and the season 2 premiere, we continue to build our audience so that we come back in the summer of 2016 bigger and better than ever. And, of course, the way to do that is to get the word out – and get people watching (and even re-watching).
So, while you’re out watching and getting the word out about the show, we’ll be busy making it. This week, Paul and I head to Toronto for meetings with Executive Producer Vanessa Piazza and Production Designer Ian Brock. The week following, Akemi and I (and the dogs!) make the big move. And then – things are going to get crazy!
