The end of the year is the time for lists and stats, and preferably lists of stats if you can swing it. And so, with that in mind, definitely check out Vulture‘s rundown of fun TV facts from 2016. It’s got lots of interesting information, like which show had the whitest audience, and which shows did best in various regions of the country, and which shows did best in various age groups, and so on. But the most interesting fact in the whole thing was probably this one: The audience for It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia is rich as heck.
The typical viewer of The Americans lives in a home where the average income is just north of $80,000 per year — a larger amount than all but one basic cable drama. Just edging it out: BBC America’s London Spy, whose audience makes an average of $81,600 annually. Interestingly, among comedies, a much more low-brow FX series — the beloved and long-running It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia— actually has the richest audience on basic cable. Sunny viewers take in a healthy $81,300 each year.
This might come off as an insult, which is not the intent because It’s Always Sunny is still churning out classic episodes over a decade into it’s run, but… this is weird, right? Like, this wouldn’t have been your first answer if someone asked you which basic cable audience had the richest audience. It’s just… it seems like more of a “people cracking up in a crappy apartment” show than a “professionals living in the suburbs” show. And you can’t even discount it by pointing out that there are not that many comedies on basic cable right now, because that figure is near the top even among dramas. It might be the only thing Sunny and London Spy have in common, to be honest.
Until we figure this out for real, let’s all just assume Warren Buffett is a huge fan and he’s skewing the numbers.
(Via Vulture)
