Editor’s note: If you’re just here for our research, click here to skip the intro and dive straight into the rankings.
2024 was a blockbuster year for television, with series, specials and sporting events making waves across broadcast, cable, streaming and premium platforms.
From record-breaking premieres to unexpected hits, 2024’s best TV show moments weren’t just about ratings. These shows ignited conversations, trended across platforms, and kept audiences buzzing long after the credits rolled.
Streaming platforms maintained their dominance in both series and movie premieres. Global sensations like Squid Game returned for highly anticipated new seasons, while fresh adaptations such as Avatar: The Last Airbender captured widespread attention.
On premium cable, shows like House of the Dragon achieved remarkable viewership and generated significant social engagement, keeping the drama alive.
Broadcast TV demonstrated its enduring appeal through enduring reality hits such as Dancing with the Stars and live programming like WWE SmackDown, which drew massive audience interactions.
Spanish-language television also made a notable impact. La casa de los famosos commanded significant attention, while networks like Univision and Telemundo balanced fan-favorite staples with exciting new releases.
Live events continued to drive cultural moments. Award shows, including the MTV VMAs and Grammys, amassed hundreds of millions of engagements, underscoring their global influence.
Sports remained a powerful draw, with the rise of streaming-exclusive matches, such as El Clásico on ESPN+, highlighting a shift in how audiences experience major events.
Social Content Ratings’ (SCR) established Premiere Performance module makes easy work of these rankings, breaking down the top premieres of the year by leveraging Gracenote Studio System data as the official source of program, season, and episode release dates.
SCR’s Premiere Performance is the only solution that delivers trusted apples-to-apples premiere measurement across all broadcast, cable, and streaming titles, allowing the media industry to leverage standardized social performance measurements for the premiere windows of all new and returning programs.
Top series premieres
Streaming giants dominated 2024’s biggest social premieres, with Netflix securing six of the top 10 slots, including Squid Game and Bridgerton.
Meanwhile, House of the Dragon kept premium cable in the spotlight, and WWE RAW demonstrated that live TV remains a force to be reckoned with.
From fantasy epics to reality hits, these premieres fueled nonstop fan conversations.
Top new series premieres
The newest series of 2024 made waves across platforms. Among the 773 new debuts, Amazon’s Beast Games ended the year on a high note, with Netflix’s Avatar: The Last Airbender and When the Phone Rings completing the top three.
Revamped reality favorites like AGT: Fantasy League and Love Island: All-Stars kept audiences buzzing, while Disney+ scored big with hits like Agatha All Along and Star Wars: The Acolyte.
Top broadcast series premieres
Broadcast TV continued to captivate audiences in 2024, led by Dancing with the Stars, which drove over 8.4 million social engagements.
WWE SmackDown and SNL kept live event programming in the spotlight, while NBC dominated late-night buzz. In Spanish-language television, Telemundo’s La Casa de los famosos stood out as a major engagement driver.
Top ad-supported cable series premieres
Ad-supported cable delivered plenty of social buzz in 2024. Wrestling maintained its social dominance with WWE’s RAW and NXT, along with AEW’s Rampage, while reality and unscripted hits like RuPaul’s Drag Race and Dance Moms kept fan conversations thriving across platforms.
Meanwhile, the debut of The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live made it the only new series to crack the top 10.
Top premium cable series premieres
Premium cable remained a social powerhouse in 2024, led by House of the Dragon.
HBO maintained its dominance with True Detective and the series finale of Curb Your Enthusiasm, while Power Book II: Ghost on Starz generated significant buzz. Newcomers like Dune: Prophecy and Mary and George also captured audience attention on social platforms.
Top Spanish-language series premieres
Spanish-language networks and streamers saw a more even balance of conversation around new and returning series in 2024.
La casa de los famosos led the way with nearly 4 million engagements, while Telemundo dominated with hits like El señor de los cielos and Top Chef VIP. Univision’s Desiguales and ¿Quién es la máscara? brought fresh buzz and kept fans captivated all year.
Top streaming movie premieres
Streaming movies took center stage in 2024, led by The Idea of You, which garnered over 7.2 million social engagements.
Taylor Swift’s The Eras Tour brought Eras fever to Disney+, while Amazon and Netflix kept viewers hooked with standout films like Emilia Pérez and Upgraded.
Top TV specials (non-political)
Major TV specials dominated social media in 2024, with the MTV VMAs generating a staggering 172 million engagements.
Award season remained a major draw as the Grammys, Oscars, and Golden Globes captivated millions. Latin music and culture also took the spotlight, with the Latin Grammys and Premio Lo Nuestro driving widespread conversation.
Top sports events
Streaming sports events surged in 2024, with El Clásico breaking into the top 10 on ESPN+ and Paul vs. Tyson generating massive buzz on Netflix.
Traditional powerhouses like Super Bowl LVIII and the NBA Finals continued to dominate broadcast, while events like the Olympics and Copa América captivated audiences worldwide.
Methodology
- Interactions data is for programs with premiere episodes/airings occurring Jan 1 – Dec 31, 2024. Interactions reflect SCR’s “Extended Measurement” window for content from premiere day + 6 following days (P7).
- Top sports events interactions reflect SCR’s “Linear” measurement (+/- 3 hours around the telecast).
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