‘Tracker’ Takes No. 1 on Linear TV Chart for a 2nd Week — A Rare Feat for Scripted Series
For seven consecutive weeks, Max/HBO’s “The Penguin” has ruled the streaming chart, much in the way its titular character hopes to reign over the crime underworld of Gotham City. No one and nothing, ranging from diplomats to lawyers, from Halloween horrors to Martha Stewart, could unseat the show this week on Samba TV’s Weekly Wrap Report.
With one more episode to go, it’s highly likely “The Penguin” will make it a clean eight-week sweep atop the chart – and possibly extend its tenure beyond new episodes, as we saw with “House of the Dragon” over the summer.
Let’s look at the challengers who may hope to hold the crown once “The Penguin’s” season ends.
In second this week is “Don’t Move,” the Netflix horror film that likely got a Halloween-time bump in ratings. At No. 3 is another gangster story, albeit one a bit lighter in tone, that has also spent every week of its season in the Top 10. Sylvester Stallone’s Paramount+ hit “Tulsa King” aired its own penultimate episode this week, and will wrap up its second season on Nov. 10.
That’s followed by a run of six Netflix titles, starting with two popular dramas. “The Lincoln Lawyer” has been a steady presence on the streaming chart since it returned with its third season on Oct. 17. It’s followed by Season 2 of “The Diplomat.” The Keri Russell-led thriller series returned on Halloween, with 865,000 U.S. households watching the first episode over the first four days it was available, according to Samba TV data.
Up next is “Martha,” a documentary about Martha Stewart’s life career that has earned scorn from Stewart herself, at No. 6.
Netflix gets in on the Halloween season again with the time-travel slasher film “Time Cut,” which lands No. 7. “Beauty in Black” lands at No. 8 after debuting on the streaming service on Oct. 24. The original drama series is the latest product of Netflix’s fruitful partnership with creator, director and producer Tyler Perry. The final Netflix entry on the list is “Love is Blind,” which falls from No. 5 to No. 9 this week.
Closing out our chart is “Only Murders in the Building.” The Hulu hit that aired its fourth season finale on Oct. 29.
Over on linear, the CBS drama “Tracker” holds the top spot for the second consecutive week – a feat rarely accomplished by a scripted series. “Tracker” benefits from following CBS’s Sunday NFL broadcasts, which are ratings behemoths in their own right (the Samba TV Weekly Wrap Report excludes sports content).
“Tracker” is trailed this week by the competition program that usually sits atop the chart in the autumn, “The Voice.” Another episode of “The Voice” comes in at No. 8 as well. Rising to No. 3 is “Saturday Night Live,” aided by an appearance by Vice President Kamala Harris that came a few days prior to election day.
“The Simpsons” gets a Halloween boost up to No. 4 on the linear chart as the long-running program aired its 34th annual “Treehouse of Horror” episode on Nov. 3.
CBS logs two more scripted series on the charts this week, with linear-chart mainstay “FBI” coming in at No. 6 and the newcomer “Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage” coming in at No. 10. The “Young Sheldon” sequel series cracks the chart with its third episode that aired on Halloween.
Meanwhile, “Dancing With the Stars” waltzes into the No. 5 spot this week, while two episodes of “Wheel of Fortune” land at No. 7 and No. 9.
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