As Americans have been sheltering in place during the coronavirus pandemic, we’ve been turning to TV for comfort and escape. And with hours to kill, especially on home-bound weekends, it’s no surprise that many viewers are kicking back for binge-watching sessions.
According to Inscape.tv, the TV data company with glass-level insights from a panel of more than 14 million smart TVs, during the weekend of April 24-26 the most binge-watched time-shifted shows (based on minutes binged as a percent of all binged shows that Inscape measured) were NCIS: Los Angeles, Law & Order: SVU, The Last Dance, The Office and Chicago P.D., in that order.
It’s not surprising to see procedural dramas make the list, given that they often air in syndicated marathons, they’re perfect for DVRing and later binging. It also makes sense to see The Last Dance in the top five. Given the absence of live sports during the coronavirus pandemic, ESPN moved up the premiere of the miniseries about Michael Jordan and the 1997-98 Chicago Bulls (originally slated for June) to earlier this month. Many viewers tuned into the first episodes live, but for anyone who missed it — or with just a ravenous appetite for fresh sports-related content — a weekend binge/rewatch session was apparently the ticket.
