Welcome to First Week Peak, a column which discusses shows that are about to premiere on Netflix, Prime Video, Disney+, Paramount+, HBO Max, Peacock, Hulu, and/or Apple TV. Each discussion concludes with a prediction for the show's weekly peak performance on their respective streaming service's U.S. trending chart, including a reader poll. Final results can be found in our weekly What's Trending On Streaming column. Let us know what you think in the comments!
Premieres: August 17 on Hulu
Genre: Comedy
It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia has a 10-episode order for Season 18, which is longer than the three 8-episode seasons to precede it and the same episode count as each previous season since Season 8 in 2012. The expanded order could be seen as a sign of confidence from Disney, who is simulcasting all ten episodes on FX, FXX, and Hulu for the first time ever. With one episode dropping per week, It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia will likely make steady appearances somewhere on Hulu's chart through the end of October.
It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia's Attention Score hasn't budged all that much all year. It currently sits at a 4.2 per Television Stats, which is well behind the 28.6 for The Shards and the 22.5 for Furious. It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia's Attention Score was at a 13.5 the day after its Season 17 finale aired, which is a sizable gain from its current score but still far below The Shards. Hulu also hasn't been kind to comedy recently, with King of the Hill and Futurama combining for just one day atop the Top 15 chart.
Premieres: August 19 on Paramount+
Genre: Dark comedy-drama
Average Joe will have a bigger platform for the launch of its second season than its first. It will be the latest show to premiere its new season on Paramount+ after the series originally aired on the now-defunct BET+. Average Joe also got the Netflix treatment in August 2024, where it reached #9 on their weekly Top 10 chart among US TV shows. If Paramount feels they could get extra viewership for the second season on Netflix, it could manage a renewal for a third, much like how Netflix saved fellow Paramount+ original School Spirits.
Average Joe currently holds a 0.3 Attention Score per Television Stats. That's higher than the 0.1 from most of the year, but below 22 other Paramount+ series. While BET+ shows have occasionally have some success on Paramount+, that is far from a promising sign. It also has an 8-episode order, reduced from the first season's 10-episode order. It also seems unlikely that a lot of the Netflix audience from two years ago will follow the show to Paramount+.
Premieres: August 20 on Netflix
Genre: Teen action drama
Season 4 Part 2 of Outer Banks, the most recent batch of episodes to drop in November 2024, spent three weeks on Netflix's US TV Shows chart. It peaked at #1 in its first week, dipped to #2 in its second, and spent a third week on the chart at #5 before falling off the chart. Season 5 only has to put up a fraction of this performance to spend a single day at #1. It also benefits from premiering at a time where there isn't a single phenom to compete against.
Outer Banks' current Attention Score per Television Stats is a 3.8, which is only the 21st-highest among all Netflix shows. It's also been quite some time since Season 4 premiered, with the first half dropping in October 2024 and the second half in November of that same year. While not likely, it's possible Outer Banks' final season could be overlooked.
Premieres: August 21 on Apple TV
Genre: Children's animation
When it comes to original series, Apple TV has grown to become a formidable competitor as a TV streaming service. Stillwater also doesn’t need to get record-breaking viewership or Emmy nominations to score a renewal.
Stillwater returns at a time of year when both Ted Lasso and Silo are dropping new episodes, which will make it extremely hard to break into the upper echelons of Apple TV’s Top 10 chart. As an older series from the early Apple TV+ days catered toward kids, Stillwater doesn’t really have a high ceiling.