Streamers Struggle to Copy Linear’s Success With Procedural Dramas | Charts

Netflix’s “Lucifer” is the only original streaming series in the 10 most in-demand procedural dramas, according to Parrot Analytics‘ data, which takes into account consumer research, streaming, downloads and social media, among other engagement.

Although “Lucifer” had its series finale a year ago, it still remains highly in-demand. While the last three seasons were released as Netflix originals, this show was acquired by the platform after originally airing on Fox for three low-rated seasons.

While procedural dramas — dramas that formulaically introduce and close a story with each episode rather than depending on season-long arcs — are consistently among the most in-demand, they largely still originate from linear channels. Streaming platforms have either not yet cracked the code for a successful streaming original procedural drama or are perfectly content to be the homes for the second life of procedural dramas from linear channels.

And as a more established genre, procedural dramas haven’t seen the explosive growth that some other trending genres have seen recently. With multiple long-running franchises from network TV accounting for the bulk of demand for the genre, demand has largely remained stable and predictable. In the first week of September 2022, total demand for the genre was only 8% higher than it was in January 2020.  Contrast this with some of the fastest growing genres like true crime whose growth in-demand has been hyper-charged by streaming platforms chasing the trend and churning out original content.

The most in-demand procedural drama in the United States last month was “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit,” which had 25.15 times the average series demand for the month.

It was also joined in the top 10 by the original “Law & Order,” which NBC revived for its 21st season this year, after having ended in 2010. It will be returning for its 22nd season later this month, a testament to the longevity of the “Law & Order” franchise in particular and the procedural genre.

Linear channels’ dominance in the procedural drama genre becomes very apparent when we look at how demand for the genre breaks down by original platform/network. CBS is the clear leader in this space as 30.7% of demand for all procedural dramas in the U.S. for the past month was for a show that originally aired on CBS. NBC ranked second with a respectable 21.6% share of demand for the genre. Shows from these two networks alone account for more than 50% of demand for procedural dramas in the U.S.

No other platform comes close to matching CBS or NBC’s share and the remaining platforms each had under a 10% share of demand for the month. Netflix was unique as the only streaming platform with a significant share of demand for its original procedural dramas, thanks largely to the success of “Lucifer.” While content from linear networks continues to dominate the genre, these shows often have a successful second life on streaming platforms, for example “Criminal Minds” regularly features in the top shows on Netflix. It remains to be seen if a truly original (not just acquired) procedural drama from a streaming platform could shake up the genre and potentially fuel top level demand growth for this type of content.

For more from WrapPRO content partner Parrot Analytics, visit the Data and Analysis Hub.

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