8 biggest breakout TV shows of 2021, thanks to word of mouth – from Netflix’s Squid Game to Selena Gomez-lead Only Murders in the Building and Disney animated series What If … ?

Dec 30 , 2021

From Netflix shows Shadow and Bone and Squid Game, to Kate Winslet starring in Mare of Easttown, these shows became hits only after their premieres. Photos: Netflix, HBO

Some of the year’s most successful TV shows, like HBO’s Mare of Easttown starring Kate Winslet in the lead role, scored low during their pre-launch screenings

Netflix shows Shadow and Bone, Bling Empire, Young Royals and Ginny and Georgia all became massive, critically acclaimed hits after their premieres

Did you know that some of the most successful TV shows this year, like mega-hit Squid Game and Selena Gomez-lead Only Murders in the Building, didn’t score high in their pre-launch engagement numbers? These famous shows only ended up reaching new heights of success after their premieres through word of mouth buzz.

Analytics company Diesel Labs compiled a list of the new TV shows this year that had limited pre-launch online engagement, but had the biggest increase after they premiered. Diesel Labs pulls audience-engagement data from social and video platforms Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Instagram to gauge the level of interest in a piece of content. The company then ranked the shows by their ratio of engagement before and after they debuted.

Here’s a list of eight shows that found success post-release …

8. Only Murders in the Building (Hulu)

Selena Gomez, Steve Martin and Martin Short in Only Murders in the Building. Photo: Hulu/TNS

Ratio: 1:70

Description: “Only Murders in the Building follows three strangers [Steve Martin, Martin Short and Selena Gomez] who share an obsession with true crime and suddenly find themselves wrapped up in one. When a grisly death occurs inside their exclusive Upper West Side flat building, the trio suspects murder and employs their precise knowledge of true crime to investigate the truth. As they record a podcast of their own to document the case, the three unravel the complex secrets of the building, which stretch back years. Perhaps even more explosive are the lies they tell one another. Soon, the endangered trio comes to realise a killer might be living among them as they race to decipher the mounting clues before it’s too late.”

Rotten Tomatoes critic score: 100 per cent

What critics said: “Steve Martin, whose career path has intersected television since before he was a writer and an occasional presence on The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour, has in his mid-70s co-created a splendidly funny, involving and one might even say youthful series.” – Los Angeles Times