Live award shows continued to prove they’re a hit with viewers, as once again, the April 3 Grammy Awards and the March 27 Academy Awards landed in the No. 1 and 2 spots on Variety’s Trending TV chart for the week of April 4 to 10.
Last week the Grammys earned a record-making 56.9 million engagements. This week, the CBS broadcast added another 12.6 million engagements to that total, further solidifying the show as the top engagement earner on Variety’s Trending chart since its inception. Meanwhile, ABC’s broadcast of the Oscars added another 4.6 million engagements to its previous tally of 58.8 million, putting it in a solid, yet distant, second place.
At my funeral, please don’t use words. Just show this pic. Well, I mean, if you have other angles of this moment feel free to use those as well. 😁 #BTS #BestNightEver #GRAMMYs @bts_bighit @BTS_twt 🔥 📷: @GettyImages pic.twitter.com/gxXOGY0YhB
— Trevor Noah (@Trevornoah) April 6, 2022
Elsewhere on TV this week, the new installment of “Moon Knight” on Disney Plus got people talking. The second episode of the six-part miniseries bowed on April 6, introducing viewers to the newest MCU superhero’s second personality, Marc Spector (Oscar Isaac).
The fan frenzy was fueled by fellow Marvel stars Vincent D’Onofrio and Simu Liu, who both shared their encouragement for the series following strong performances from Isaac and co-star Ethan Hawke (although Liu did note Hawke’s character may benefit from a better Mandarin teacher).
My pal Hawke is so good in #MoonKnight. Love this Show.
Oscar and May Calamawy too. Ep 1 and 2 are great.
Can’t wait for 3 pic.twitter.com/i9N0QdB8at— Vincent D’Onofrio (@vincentdonofrio) April 9, 2022
Alright Arthur Harrow needs to fire his Mandarin teacher
— Simu Liu (刘思慕) (@SimuLiu) April 9, 2022
Fans also shared plenty of theories and Easter egg discoveries as they settled into the first two episodes, discovering subtle connections to “The Falcon and the Winter Soldier,” “Thor” and “Black Panther,” along with another code for a free digital comic book download. In total, the show earned 220,000 engagements, half of last week’s haul.
Love Easter Eggs in movies or shows, just scanned a QR code which shows for a brief moment in Moon Knight and it has linked me to a free comic book digital copy.
Cool little Easter egg for all my fellow #Marvel geeks 🤓 the power of curiosity and a QR code… pic.twitter.com/qWlTUismts
— Elliot Cierpiol (@Elliot_Resource) April 6, 2022
Fun fact:
In the first episode of Moon Knight on Disney+, there’s a really cool Easter egg.
If you go to around the 5 minute mark, there’s a QR code on the museum wall.
Scan that and you get a free digital copy of Werewolf by Night 32, Moon Knight’s first ever appearance. pic.twitter.com/jK2Df3Hv1T— Pablo Tiley (@Pablo_Tiley) April 3, 2022
A new episode of “Outlander” on Starz propelled the series to fourth place, up from 10th last week. The Caitriona Balfe and Sam Heughan-led drama pulled in nearly 167,000 engagements following its 71-minute long installment, “The World Turned Upside Down.” The episode picked up on an important thread from its source material, Diana Gabaldon’s novel “A Breath of Snow and Ashes,” in which Claire falls deathly ill. It also featured a shocking death that will further complicate life at Fraser’s Ridge for the characters heading into the final two episodes of the season.
<gasp,gasp,gasp…> A LOT of breath-holding, breath-taking stuff in Ep. 606!#Outlander @Outlander_STARZ @starzplayuk pic.twitter.com/MRVaHmunWd
— Diana Gabaldon (@Writer_DG) April 10, 2022
“Outlander” also kicked off production on its seventh season this past week. Heughan shared photos online, which further drove overall engagement.
Great first full week on @Outlander_STARZ Season 7. You think season 6 is good (it is!!).
WAIT until you see this one…..😳🤯 pic.twitter.com/S2JGtZIMlL
— Sam Heughan (@SamHeughan) April 8, 2022
Netflix’s second season of “Bridgerton” also held strong on this week’s chart, accumulating 131,000 more engagements as fans continue dissecting the March 25 drop. Meanwhile, an April 10 report from The Sun alleging abusive on-set behavior and bullying from production designer Dave Arrowsmith further drove interactions. Variety later verified Arrowsmith has exited the upcoming “Bridgerton” spinoff, “Queen Charlotte.”
Reminder that Bridgerton has already been renewed for a third AND fourth season. pic.twitter.com/W6G5aePTsV
— Netflix UK & Ireland (@NetflixUK) April 6, 2022
New on this week’s chart was Netflix’s first-part drop of “The Ultimatum,” the reality dating experiment from the team behind “Love Is Blind.” The Nick and Vanessa Lachey-hosted series kicked off its 10-episode run on April 6 and pulled in 106,000 engagements throughout the week as the first eight episodes began trending. The series revolves around couples; one person wants to get married and the other isn’t so sure, so they begin an open relationship to get some clarity and test their commitments. Episodes 9 and 10 drop on April 13, with a reunion episode to follow.
The Ultimatum is the worst show I’ve ever seen. I want 10 seasons.
— Sarah (@smileysarah50) April 8, 2022
You must be a really secure person within yourself to join this show. Because if I had to hear “I’m not ready to marry you, but if I meet the right person I’d get married tomorrow”. You’d catch me throwing hands, elbows, knees and toes #TheUltimatum
— Miss Coco’s Corner (@MissCocosCorner) April 6, 2022
Another Netflix entry, “Business Proposal,” landed in seventh place on this week’s chart. The South Korean rom-com (based on a Webtoon of the same name by HaeHwa) revolves around a woman (Kim Se-jeong) who shows up to a blind date pretending to be her friend, with intentions of scaring him away. But things grow complicated when the woman realizes the man (Ahn Hyo-seop) is actually her boss — and he proposes. The first season wrapped on April 5, garnering another 72,000 engagements for the series on Twitter.
#BusinessProposal finally ended. It’s a feel good series with so much heart. The plot keeps you hooked. No upsetting plot twists just pure lightness and fun. 😭
A must watch if you just want to be happy. The casts are just perfect for their roles. 10/10 😭#BusinessProposalEp12 pic.twitter.com/e1WF27gPvL— zee base 🗯 (@zygmaund) April 5, 2022
In eighth place this week was “The Late Late Show With James Corden” on CBS. Many of the show’s 62,000 engagements were due to a new installment of “Carpool Karaoke” with Nicki Minaj. Throughout the episode, Minaj sang some of her hits and opened up about her mental health, but it was her spot-on impression of Adele (and a rendition of “Someone Like You”) that really got fans excited.
Hey! It’s been a while. Here’s a brand new #CarpoolKaraoke I had a blast doing this. x https://t.co/19n6W7h02F #NICKICARPOOL
— James Corden (@JKCorden) April 7, 2022
Elsewhere, “Our Flag Means Death” on HBO Max once again landed in ninth on the chart with just over 61,000 engagements. The pirate comedy that’s very loosely based on the life of Stede Bonnet (Rhys Darby) wrapped in March, but it continues to draw conversation thanks to its groundbreaking LGBTQ portrayals and curiosity surrounding the real-life pirate at the center of the story. A fan campaign for a second-season renewal has also propelled overall engagement.
Fun Fact: We were filming at the same time as Abbott Elementary on the same studio lot. They were a few sound stages down from us! 🤝 #OurFlagMeansDeath https://t.co/Rw0F5OKtAL
— Our Flag Means Death (@OurFlagHBOMax) April 9, 2022
Rounding out this week’s Top 10 was “WWE Raw” on WWE/USA with nearly 58,000 engagements, which were largely driven by WrestleMania 38 on April 2 and 3. During the event, All Elite Wrestling (AEW) co-founder Cody Rhodes made his much-anticipated return to the organization after nearly six years. During the April 4 show, The Visionary confronted Rhodes about his intentions with the organization, given that Rhodes and his wife Brandi Rhodes left AEW in February after failing to come to terms on a new contract.
A feather in our cap I never dreamed of, wrestler/crew families eating well, industry legitimately changed, fans coming back and wrestlers returning, a beautiful chapter what the Elite and I helped create
Brought clarity to my next step, unfinished business https://t.co/WG04o7LtCQ
— Cody Rhodes (@CodyRhodes) April 10, 2022