The 50 Most-Watched TV Shows of Summer 2017: Winners and Losers

Summer 2017 will unfortunately be remembered for its real-life horrors, from Nazi-loving white supremacists marching in Charlottesville to the devastation of Hurricane Harvey in Texas. Americans looking to escape the barrage of bad news didn’t do it in the movie theaters, where domestic box office was at its lowest in decades. But they did flock to television — and two shows in particular.

HBO’s “Game of Thrones” and NBC’s “America’s Got Talent” aren’t new, but they are small-screen staples that experienced tremendous ratings lifts this season. Even as audiences continue to move to streaming services and other platforms, there’s still room for appointment TV, as viewers still watch linearly (or, at least, relatively fast via time-shifting) in order to stay in the pop culture conversation.

Read More: These Are the 100 Most-Watched TV Shows of the 2016-17 Season: Winners and Losers

IndieWire has compiled the summer 2017 rankers for broadcast and cable, using the most recent Live+3 ratings (which include three days’ worth of DVR and video on-demand usage). Here’s a final look at some of the hits and misses of the summer, followed by our complete list of the most-watched shows of June/July/August, according to both adults 18-49 and total viewers.

Highs

“Game of Thrones”: What else can be said about “Game of Thrones,” other than it’s a summer giant. In Live+3 ratings alone, it averaged a 6.0 rating among adults 18-49 over seven episodes, far ahead of any other program this summer. Doubly impressive: Because it’s a pay service, HBO is available in a fraction of the households that most networks can be found. The channel faced piracy concerns, and “Game of Thrones” is one of the most illegally download programs on the Internet. And yet, the show not only posts record ratings from linear viewing, but a growing audience is actually accessing “Thrones” via streaming. The show averaged 13.1 million viewers throughout the season; after three days of DVR and VOD usage, the finale on Aug. 27 averaged a 6.9 rating in the demo and 14.9 million viewers overall.

“America’s Got Talent”: Now in its 12th season, “AGT” continues to be a juggernaut for NBC, delivering ratings similar or even up vs. last year. Featuring judges Howie Mandel, Mel B, Heidi Klum and Simon Cowell, plus host Tyra Banks, “AGT” is also a hit with time-shifting audiences: This season, it’s growing by 37% among adults 18-49 after seven days of DVR and VOD usage, and adding 3.4 million viewers after seven days. “‘America’s Got Talent’ is on fire right now,” NBC Entertainment chairman Bob Greenblatt said this summer. “Season 12 is actually its most watched season ever. How many shows go up these days year to year?” The talent competition’s finale airs Sept. 20.

“World of Dance”: Viewers are making room for more J-Lo. The dance competition series was an immediate hit for NBC, and has improved its timeslot 43% vs. last summer in adults 18-49. In Live+3 ratings, “World of Dance” averaged 9.6 million viewers, putting it behind only “AGT” and “Game of Thrones” in total viewers. According to NBC, it was the No. 1 alternative summer premiere in nine years, making it an easy choice to renew for next summer. Jennifer Lopez executive produces and serves as a judge, along with Derek Hough, Ne-Yo and host Jenna Dewan Tatum.

“The Sinner”: According to USA, the Jessica Biel drama has quickly become the No.1 new cable series of 2017 with adults 18-49 and total viewers. In Live+3 ratings, “The Sinner” averages 3.6 million viewers and a 1.1 rating in adults 18-49. “The Sinner” has also garnered plenty of critical acclaim during its eight-episode run. IndieWire has called the show “satisfying” and “well-executed.” As USA Network ponders how to produce another season of the limited-run series, “The Sinner” will air through Sept. 20 on USA.

Telemundo: Not too long ago, Univision was such a dominant force in Spanish-language TV that smaller networks like Telemundo had to settle for ratings scraps. Not any more. Telemundo is coming off its best ratings performance yet, leading the summer as the dominant No. 1 Spanish network in weekday primetime. Also in Monday-through-Friday prime, Telemundo was even the No. 3 network regardless of language in August among adults 18-34, beating CBS, Fox and every cable network. The network was buoyed by successful telenovelas “El Señor de los Cielos” and “Sin Senos Si Hay Paraiso.”

Lows

Megyn Kelly: NBC News should have seen this coming. The network’s big $17 million investment was a bust from the very beginning, as Megyn Kelly remains a polarizing figure on both sides of the political aisle. Liberals don’t trust her from her Fox News days, and conservatives see her as an enemy of Donald Trump (and perhaps as a traitor looking to go mainstream). Immediate missteps on “Sunday Night with Megyn Kelly” included poorly received interviews with Vladimir Putin and Alex Jones; softer interviews after that didn’t help. The show ended its run at the end of July, as Kelly moves her focus to a new morning show, “Megyn Kelly Today.” “Sunday Night” is supposed to return next spring – but whether it actually will is up for debate.

“Twin Peaks”: From a purely linear ratings standpoint, “Twin Peaks” was a disaster. The 18-hour series, which concludes Labor Day weekend, has averaged just 372,000 viewers, putting it just below “Food Paradises” on the Travel Channel and “Tiny House, Big Living” on DIY. (In comparison, Showtime’s “Ray Donovan” attracts 1.9 million viewers on the same night.) But the revival of “Twin Peaks” was never about linear numbers for Showtime, which has labeled the show a success based on multi-platform viewing — and, more important to its bottom line, subscriptions. “Even though its overall numbers are not as big as our biggest shows, it’s had a very palpable effect on subscribers for multiple months now,” Showtime president/CEO David Nevins said last month. “It is not as big as our biggest shows, but it’s not so low either. It has a way higher proportion of streaming than anything else.”

Boy Bands: In what may be a warning sign for the next crop of music competition series coming (or returning, in the case of “American Idol”) to TV, ABC’s summer entry “Boy Band” was pretty much ignored by viewers. The show averaged 2.7 million viewers, and a lowly 0.6 rating with adults 18-49. (It hovered next to fellow CBS summer disappointment “Candy Crush”). But there’s disappointing, and then there’s death: Viceland’s “American Boyband,” was one of the least-watched programs on any network this summer, averaging just 25,000 viewers. Call this trend “No Direction.”

“Will”: Pity poor William Shakespeare, whose summer kicked off with a ridiculous controversy over a free Shakespeare show in New York City. From there, TNT’s hipster “Will,” a period tale that told the story of young Will Shakespeare with a modern beat, failed to deliver — averaging just 697,000 viewers (and 0.2 in the demo). Shonda Rhimes’ “Still Star-Crossed,” a sequel of sorts to “Romeo & Juliet,” was also a dud, averaging 1.6 million viewers (and 0.4 in the demo). A reminder to programmers that every series pitch that glitters is not gold.

Here are the top series rankers according to adults 18-49 and total viewers, featuring seven days of time-shifted viewing. Most recent data is through May 14; these ratings will be updated as new numbers come in.

Top 50 Shows of Summer 2017, Adults 18-49

America’s top-rated series of the summer season in the key advertising demographic (measured in ratings points/audience share) are …

Top 50 Shows, Total Viewers

America’s most-watched series of summer 2017 are …

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