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‘Stranger Things’ Tops Twitter Chatter After Extended Absence

Plus Barack Obama’s narrated Netflix doc makes noise and ‘The Kardashians’ comes in strong

stranger things
Netflix

Once again, the Grammy Awards on CBS and the Academy Awards on ABC dominated Variety’s Trending TV chart for the week of April 11 to 17. However, the award shows’ stronghold on the chart dropped significantly as “Stranger Things” debuted with more than 427,000 engagements on Twitter.

Netflix has been dropping teasers for the much-anticipated fourth season of the Duffer brothers’ hit series for months now, but on Tuesday, the show finally released a full-length trailer while also confirming the penultimate season returns for its first half on May 27.

It’s been three years since the third season of “Stranger Things” debuted, so the excitement was palpable as fans dissected the trailer while speculating what’s to come in the Upside Down in these five new episodes. The reveal that the last four episodes of the season won’t be held for long — they’re expected to hit the streaming service on July 1 -- further fueled engagements.

The show generated 100,000 more engagements than “Moon Knight,” which held steady on the chart with a new episode that debuted Wednesday on Disney+. The third ep contained more Easter eggs (including a buzzy nod to MCU supervillain Kang the Conqueror), along with an unexpected twist involving the fate of one character. In total, the series collected more than 275,000 engagements, up slightly from last week’s 220,000 engagements.

“Our Great National Parks,” former President Barack Obama’s next series under his and Michelle Obama’s lucrative Netflix deal, came in fifth following its Wednesday debut. The series takes viewers to some of the world’s most impressive national parks and wild spaces. Obama appears onscreen, but also narrates, a gig that yielded inevitable comparisons to David Attenborough.

The series debuted just in time for Earth Day on April 22 and was also considered decent family viewing during the Easter weekend, driving roughly 161,000 engagements in the days following its drop.

Speaking of families, “The Kardashians” also sparked chatter and reeled in more than 132,000 engagements on the social media platform following Thursday’s debut on Hulu. The premiere picked up with the famous reality TV family as Kim prepared for her “SNL” debut, Kourtney and Travis Barker engaged in some PDA at a family BBQ, Khloé proved she and Tristan Thompson were still friends, Kylie pondered the sex of her then-unborn baby, and Kendall sat the episode out after a positive COVID test.

Some reveals, like Kim considering Kanye West to be her musical guest on “SNL” and running into Pete Davidson at the Met Gala, helped to drive the conversation, although fans were also curious about Scott Disick’s reaction to his ex-girlfriend’s new relationship. They also seemed to love watching Kim as she put her legal skills to good use in terms of quashing another potential sex tape leak.

In seventh place on this week’s chart, “Outlander” held strong with 88,000 engagements, despite Starz’s planned Easter hiatus. Once again, “Our Flag Means Death” also continued to trend with 68,000 engagements as fans pushed for a second season on HBO.

The April 11 broadcast of the CMT Music Awards also made an appearance in ninth place on this week’s trending chart, drawing 51,000 engagements. Kelsea Ballerini co-hosted the show from her home following a positive COVID-19 test, but in-person appearances by co-hosts Kane Brown and Anthony Mackie, along with artists like LeAnn Rimes and Faith Hill, also drove the conversation. Taylor Swift’s trending comeback song win for “Love Story (Taylor’s Version)” was also a big moment with fans.

Pulling up in 10th place on this week’s chart was “Killing Eve” as more fans dissected the April 10 series finale. The show pulled in an additional 43,000 engagements as viewers lamented the direction the drama went in with the final episode. For those keeping track, the finale veered quite significantly from the books upon which the series is based.

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