Tag Archives: Zombie Apocalypse

Stranger Things Tops List Of Most Popular TV Series But Who’s Next?

From Stranger Things dropping the first teaser for its final season to Sex Education Season 4, September is shaping up to be an exciting month for TV fans. New research has revealed the most popular TV series and Stranger Things tops the list. *costs are listed in USD

Our friends at Spin Genie have looked at a range of factors including the cost of the pilot episode, annual Google searches, number of Instagram posts and TikTok views as well as the IMDb rating of the world’s most popular TV series to determine the most successful series of all time. 

The most Googled TV shows:

RankShowAnnual Google searches
1Stranger Things191.3 M
2Game Of Thrones69.2 M
3The Walking Dead54.1 M
4Bridgerton22.5 M
5The Witcher21.7 M
6Westworld17.1 M
7The Mandalorian15.7 M
8Narcos11.0 M
9Orange Is the New Black10.3 M
10 13 Reasons Why10.2 M

The most searched for TV show is Stranger Things, with over 191 million annual searches. The show is also Instagram’s most popular TV show with over 15.5 million hashtagged posts on the app.

Taking the second spot is Game Of Thrones which receives nearly 70 million Google searches each year. The series was a worldwide success, with media attention lasting for eight years while the show was on air, drawing over 18.1 billion TikTok views and 13.8 million Instagram posts.

The Walking Dead takes the third spot with 54.1 million Google searches annually. The Walking Dead revolutionised the zombie apocalypse genre and captured the attention of millions of viewers across the world.

The research also revealed the top 10 most successful TV shows of all time: 

Rank Show Pilot BudgetGoogle SearchesInstagram PostsTikTok ViewsIMBD RatingSuccess Score 
1Game of Thrones$10.0M69.2M13.8M18.1B9.29.64
2Stranger Things$6.0M191.3M15.5M130.2M8.78.10
3The Mandalorian$12.5M15.7M2.4M4.6B8.77.86
4The Walking Dead $3.4M54.1M7.9M21.0B8.17.50
5Narcos$2.5M11.0M722.3K44.7M8.86.43
6Bridgerton $7.0M22.5M737.0K17.4B7.46.19
6Westworld$25.0M17.1M410.0K277.7M8.56.19
8The Witcher$10.0M21.7M1.3M3.3B8.16.07
9House of Cards$5.0M7.0M454.4K145.3M8.75.84
10The Crown $13.0M589.2K571.3K 5.1B8.65.83

Game of Thrones tops the list of the most successful TV shows, scoring 9.64 out of 10. The series is the highest-rated of any of the TV shows on the list, with an IMDB rating of 9.2 out of 10 and has also inspired 13.8 million Instagram posts, the second highest total of any shows. 

In second place is Stranger Things with a score of 8.1. The popularity of this series has influenced the charts, with Kate Bush’s Running Up That Hill re-entering the charts after appearing on Stranger Things. The series has more Google searches and Instagram posts than any other show in this study, even though the pilot episode budget was just $6 million. 

Rounding out the top three with a success score of 7.86 is The Mandalorian. The Disney+ exclusive’s third season stars Pedro Pascal, and the show’s pilot episode is reported to have cost $12.5 million.  The series has 15.7 million annual Google searches, 2.4 million Instagram posts and an impressive 4.6 billion TikTok views.

Further findings:

  • Vinyl has the most expensive pilot episode of any of the TV shows profiled. Created by Mick Jagger and Martin Scorsese, the first episode cost a reported $30 million but failed to generate enough attention for a second season. 
  • When it comes to TikTok, The Walking Dead tops the list as the most popular TV series totalling more than 21 billion views on the platform.
  • Narcos has the cheapest pilot debut of the series profiled, costing $2.5 million. Despite this, the show has gained a following of fans and has over 722,000 Instagram posts about it. Narcos also achieved a high rating of 8.9 on IMDB. 

Day Of The Dead Is Unique Ecuador Halloween

Thinking about celebrating Day of the Dead in a unique way? How about Quito, Ecuador.

The capital, also known as the Middle of the World, not only has the largest and best preserved historic center in America, but it also has one of the richest cultures in the continent and Day of the Dead or Dia de los Difuntos is no exception.

day of the dead quito ecuadorEvery November 2, cemeteries are decorated with flowers, freshly painted crosses, pictures and cards to celebrate the Day of the Dead in Quito.

Early in the morning, thousands of Ecuadorians remember their family members and friends who’ve passed away with prayers, vigils and songs. This popular holiday merges hundreds of years of traditions in a fusion of Catholic and indigenous rites, where faith and religion come to life in an act of profound significance.

The oldest towns in Ecuador have been celebrating the dead since before the arrival of the Spaniards, but with Christianity, the tradition was adapted to the Catholic calendar. Today, the streets near the cemeteries fill with locals selling flowers and prayer cards and food trucks providing typical cuisine such as colada morada and guaguas de pan, which represent the religious syncretism and culinary fusion of the holiday. At the Calderon Cemetery, about 30 minutes from Quito, indigenous communities visit the graves of their loved ones and share the favorite food of the person who passed away as a way to honor them and communicate with them, with the belief that the deceased live a similar life than the one they lived while alive.

colada morada blackberries-and-sweet-bread-guagua-de-panThe preparation of these dishes also serve as a reason for the entire family to get together. Colada morada, one of the typical beverages for the Day of the Dead, is a drink of indigenous origin and one of the most traditional delicacies of Quito’s cuisine. Prepared with a base of black corn, blueberries, blackberries, pineapple, orange and other fruits and herbs, colada morada is accompanied by the traditional guagua de pan, sweet breads shaped into baby-like figures made with wheat flour and, in some places, with cornmeal from grains from the Ecuadorian Andes.

The guaguas de pan are reminiscent of the dead, especially children (hence the name guagua, which means child in Quechua). Its origin dates back to the nineteenth century and today are normally filled with guava, figs, chocolate, raisins and custard or tree tomato.  For the Silo, Luciana Soula.