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Paolo Russo on 10 Sep 2021 at 4:33 pm
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Thank you for sharing all your rollercoasting experience with data in Nyrkki. I have a couple of questions:
1) Okay, we (and the writers) can look at the data, but what data exactly? Viewing numbers, yes, but what about more specific qualitative data?
2) Re: the cow’s tail dropping after the 2nd episode – what’s the magic threshold in terms of viewers’ retention (both domestically in Finland, and internationally)?

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  Katri Manninen on 10 Sep 2021 at 11:03 pm
  Reply
  
  We got the qualitative data from the focus group – there was more data about the actors etc. but I can share only so much with you in 15 mins.
  
  I originally wanted to have all kinds of data, including when the different demographics watched the show, how many episodes they binged at one sitting, how often they watched the show, if there was a specific moment when they abandoned the show, when the different demographics abandoned the show etc.
  
  Elisa was very reluctant to give me more detailed data and I was so “shell shocked” after I got the initial data and saw how much worse our numbers were compared to the hit shows, that I gave up asking more data
  
  I’m not sure what you mean by the magic threshold. 🤔
  
  I only know the numbers for Elisa and I’m not supposed to share their exact numbers. Since I was writing for them – and they were the ones defining what success looks like, their numbers are the ones that matter to me the most.
  
  At the end of the season we were 10-20 % lower than we should have been.
  
  The drop after the first episode was the worst and most worrying part though. Ideally, we should have retained 90 % of the audience but retained about as much as the hits shows retain by the end of the season. 😳 (Whereas our numbers kept dropping throughout the season.)
  
  It didn’t stop them commissioning the second season, though. 🤷🏼‍♀️ It just premiered in Finland and the initial reactions have been very positive.
  
  I’m going to ask for the viewer data for the second season as well, just so that I can see if it’s any better than for the first one.
  
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    srn2020oxford on 12 Sep 2021 at 11:37 am
    
    Thank you. That’s all very interesting. If you don’t mind, we could pick this up during the Q&A tomorrow.
    
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4

Gabrielle Tremblay on 10 Sep 2021 at 10:52 pm
Reply

Thanks for your presentation! You attribute a lot of the show’s decline to its writing. But from/with the data you have, are you able to also take into account other aspects of the production (acting, directing, editing, etc.) to guide the writing of the second season?

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  Katri Manninen on 12 Sep 2021 at 3:07 pm
  Reply
  
  Yes, you’re right – in this presentation I’m only focusing on my part of the development and what I could do about it.
  
  The focus group gave us some insight about the certain actors as well, which we took into account (to a degree) while writing the second season.
  
  Of course some of the “blame” goes to the director, who didn’t always follow the scripts down to the tee and therefore caused some additional confusion. I addressed that problem by making sure that he agreed fully with everything I wrote for the second season.
  
  In general I really don’t prefer auteur-attitude in directors, especially tv directors.
  
  When it turned out during the shooting of the show that our main director was more auteur-minded than I thought, I chose to accept it while writing the second season and just let him have the last word on the scripts.
  
  What comes to the look, sound design and acting in general for the show, they were all thought to be superb by us, the focus group, the critics and everyone else who has talked about the show.
  
  The series was nominated for the best drama series for the year and the first reviews for the second season are quite favorable. They weren’t bad for the first season, either, though.
  
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SRN 2021

Manninen – How to use viewer data to develop a second season of a drama series?

READ ABSTRACT & BIOS

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