It isn't your imagination: Fewer people are talking about Ancient Apocalypse in its second season, nearly two years after the show's first season smashed viewership records for a streaming archaeology series. According to viewership statistics released by Netflix this week, viewership for the series is down more than two-thirds from the show's debut season. According to Netflix's Global Top Ten list for the week of October 14 to 20, just 2.2 million people watched the second season in its debut week. The 8.9 million hours viewed last week were about one-third of the 27.7 million hours viewed in the first season's first week in 2022. (Netflix did not estimate viewership in the figures it released in 2022, but using a similar conversion formula would estimate between 6 and 7 million viewers in 2022.) Similarly, with the media focused on the U.S. election and the Middle East, the number of news stories this past week discussing Ancient Apocalypse pales in comparison to 2022 stories about the first season.
This season's viewership collapse might be due to the timing of the release, in the heart of the busy season for new TV (Netflix viewers flocked to the streamer's Outer Banks instead of Ancient Apocalypse), or competition from world events ahead of the U.S. election. It may also be due to a lack of compelling narrative this season--there was nothing new, just a rehash of season one. (Of course, that never hurt Ancient Aliens.) But more likely, Netflix simply waited too long between seasons. Two years is an eternity when it comes to a flash in the pan, and the failure to capitalize on momentum led to viewers drifting away and forgetting why they cared. There were a lot of missed opportunities. I would have thought with all the time they had, Hancock, Netflix, and show producer ITN would have put together a tie-in book, for example, to build excitement. Instead, Hancock spent his promotional time on grievance tour complaining about Flint Dibble, and the whining likely did little to attract viewers to the show.
9 Comments
Kent
10/23/2024 12:54:45 pm
One more thing: Election year. Old people watch AA and old people follow politics. Each is a case of sameold sameold, perhaps with election year ahead by a nose.
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Good Point
10/23/2024 06:28:26 pm
"Two years is an eternity when it comes to a flash in the pan, and the failure to capitalize on momentum led to viewers drifting away and forgetting why they cared."
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Jim
10/23/2024 07:32:18 pm
Maybe it is too confusing for people.
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Grammy's Old Hat
10/24/2024 01:11:42 am
One only needs to look at an older work of Hancock, "The Mars Mystery" for the answer to your query. The Albino Master race came from Mars. I don't recall how the Gingers took over the role.
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Cheyenne Chaco
10/24/2024 10:09:21 am
Unlike network or cable, a show on streaming will always be there for when people have time.
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Luke
10/24/2024 11:10:45 am
Thank you Flint Dibble
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An Over-Educated Grunt
10/24/2024 07:19:36 pm
Part of it could just be that the second season just wasn't as good. Even with the addition of Keanu Reeves and the inclusion of recent work like the footprints at White Sands and terra preta, it just wasn't as consistently interesting. It becomes more and note obvious that discovery doesn't happen at the pace of a TV show and his ability to cherry-pick from new evidence is even slower. Result - he has to stretch the argument thinner, and it becomes less interesting with each new stretch.
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Paul
10/30/2024 03:44:03 pm
I have for the most part, paid Hancock little to no attention, have not watched, or for that matter, care to watch his 2 series.
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Carnival barker
10/30/2024 05:44:57 pm
Is he really delusional or just a gifted con artist? When you engage with those who consume his work you get a good idea of which peasants were giving their life savings to the man selling slivers from the One True Cross a thousand years ago. He has a gift for feigned outrage that some critics may confuse with the delusion of a true believer. The dipshits on the other hand confuse his act with sincerity.
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AuthorI am an author and researcher focusing on pop culture, science, and history. Bylines: New Republic, Esquire, Slate, etc. There's more about me in the About Jason tab. Newsletters
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