Yahya Abdul-Mateen II made headlines recently talking about the "viewership numbers" for Wonder Man. Viewership numbers is an odd phrase. It’s not like audience or ratings, phrases we’re more used to hearing. Viewership is a newer way studios think about shows, one that's based on streaming data and analytics. It's also why a great show like this can be canceled too soon.
Here’s the quote directly from the Entertainment Weekly article on Wonder Man’s cancelation.
The actor, who played Simon Williams on the Emmy-nominated Marvel series, revealed that he was informed that the decision to cancel Wonder Man came down to its overall viewership.
“I was told that it had something to do with the viewership numbers,” Abdul-Mateen told Vanity Fair. “I wasn’t told what those numbers were, but ultimately, for whatever reason it was, I think they decided that it didn’t make sense for business, and that’s the decision that we live with and we keep on marching forward.”
So what does “viewership” here mean? Modern streaming numbers are tracked in all kinds of complex ways. That's probably why he wasn't given specific numbers. There's no one number. There’s views and total streams and watched minutes, and so many more.
Luminate has a look at the numbers for this series, in their post: Why Did Disney ‘Un-Renew’ Wonder Man? Data Offers Clues.
Furthermore, an examination of Wonder Man’s retention rate — a gauge of how many initial viewers actually completed the season — shows a 48% drop-off in views from premiere to finale over its first 12 weeks.
In other words, an estimated 52% of viewers who started watching the series made it to the finale, which again puts Wonder Man right on the bubble in terms of success: A Luminate analysis of streaming original slates found new Disney+ series typically need a retention rate of 53% or higher to be considered safe from cancellation.
Wonder Man had strong season views and good total watch minutes, but the series had a sharp drop off rate during the season. Anecdotally, this rings true for me. I recommended the show a lot. Friends or family I told about the show would be initially excited, would watch an episode or two, but then fail to finish the series. It would be interesting to know why that happens.
Here's the thing—data and analytics can tell you what's happening, but it can't tell you why. The why is where human taste and judgment still shine. Without that, we're all left scratching our heads, thinking, they canceled Wonder Man, for real?! Yes, for real. It's hard to believe, no matter what the viewership numbers might say.
