You’ll Never Guess Which Classic Series Were the Most Popular in 2024
By Movieguide® Contributor
Neilsen reported that two classic series — GUNSMOKE and LITTLE HOUSE ON THE PRAIRIE — had a lot of viewers last year.
LITTLE HOUSE had 13.3 billion viewing minutes on Peacock while GUNSMOKE had 10.23 billion across Paramount+ and Peacock, per Deadline.
Both series won one of Nielsen’s ARTEY Legacy Awards. The acronym stands for Audience Rated Television Entertainment of the Year. THE BIG BAND THEORY had the title of the “most-binged” show of the year. BLUEY, MOANA and BRIDGERTON got awards for top streaming overall, and NOBODY WANTS THIS and FALLOUT won ARTEYs for most-viewed original drama and comedy shows.
LITTLE HOUSE’s viewing minutes almost topped those of the most popular original series. Adults 35 to 64 made up 63% of the show’s audience. Black viewers made up 17% of the total viewers. The show celebrated its 50th anniversary last year.
GUNSMOKE was the longest-running TV prime-time series until THE SIMPSONS and has 20 years of episodes available. It first came out in 1955 and ran for 20 seasons on CBS. Neilsen ranked it as a top-rated show for a few of those years. Most of its audience now is 50 and up, and black viewers make up 36%.
READ MORE: WHY FANS LOVE LAURA FROM LITTLE HOUSE ON THE PRAIRIE
Overall streaming went up by 10% in the US last year, compared to 2023.
The top ten streamed movies were MOANA, SUPER MARIO BROS. MOVIE, RED ONE, TROLLS BAND TOGETHER, MINIONS, ENCANTO, FROZEN, PAW PATROL: THE MOVIE, INSIDE OUT and THE BOSS BABY, in that order. Nine out of 10 of these are family movies.
As reported in Movieguide®’s 2023 Report to the Entertainment Industry, 2023 saw some of the same movies in its top 10 list for streaming. In 2023, seven out of 10 were family movies.
This shows that movies that people can watch with their families and display positive and moral values are more attractive to viewers than those that don’t. Movieguide®’s annual report also proves that content with wholesome values, like LITTLE HOUSE displays, also perform better at the box office.
Movieguide®’s annual Faith and Values Awards Gala, on Feb. 7, will debut the new 2024 Report to the Entertainment Industry.
READ MORE: LITTLE HOUSE ON THE PRAIRIE STAR RECALLS LOSING ‘FATHER FIGURE’ MICHAEL LANDON
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