What are the hottest returning TV shows? Let’s ask Wikia

August 31st, 2013

Peter Nolan

By Tim Molloy

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) – You’ve heard a lot about the new shows getting the buzz this fall – but what about the returning shows?

Last season, almost all of television’s 30 top-rated shows were in at least their second season. And some old favorites – including “The Big Bang Theory” and “The Bachelor” – made big gains.

What returning shows might come back strong this year? According to Wikia, home to a vast archive of wikis about all forms of entertainment, people are eager to read up on CW’s “Arrow,” CBS’s “2 Broke Girls,” and Fox’s “New Girl.” The wikis for the three shows are the biggest gainers in terms of user interest, according to the company, which shared its internal data exclusively with TheWrap.

The three biggest Wikia losers were ABC’s “Suburgatory” and “Modern Family,” and CBS’s “NCIS: LA.”

As the producers of “Sharnado” can tell you, online buzz doesn’t necessarily equal big ratings. Despite its apparent dip in Wikia popularity, “Modern Family” was the biggest comedy on television last season, after “Big Bang Theory.”

“Glee,” “Vampire Diaries,” and “The Simpsons” have the three most popular show wikis on Wikia – but last season, none even cracked the top 30 in the ratings.

Still, at the very least, Wikia data tells you what’s popular among one subset of television viewers.

That subset? Wikia users. There are 91.4 million of them worldwide, and their No. 1 English language wiki is for the fantasy video game series “Elder Scrolls.” As you may have guessed, they tend to gravitate toward fictional universes intricate enough to require wikis.

Here are Wikia’s biggest TV gainers and losers, according to WAM, the Wikia Activity Monitor.

Biggest gains:

“Arrow”: The Wednesday night DC Comics drama has risen 3,816 spots in the rankings since last season premiere, becoming the 18th-highest-ranked TV show on Wikia.

“2 Broke Girls”: The Monday night comedy has climbed 3,398 spots in the overall Wikia page rankings since it premiered last season, making it the site’s 24th-highest-ranked TV show overall:

“New Girl”: The Tuesday sitcom is up 1,419 spots in the rankings since its last premiere, making it the 26th-highest-ranked show.

Biggest losses:

“Suburgatory”: The sitcom doesn’t have a place on the fall schedule – it’s not expected back until midseason – which may explain why there’s less interest in it on Wikia. It has dropped 2,420 spots to become No. 42 overall in TV rankings.

“Modern Family”: ABC’s biggest hit will probably do just fine despite slipping 726 spots to 35th in the TV rankings.

“NCIS: LA”: The CBS drama has slipped 617 spots to No. 34.

And to give you a sense of Wikia users’ tastes, here are the 10 most-popular TV wikis:

1. “Glee” (Fox)

2. “Vampire Diaries” (CW)

3. “Simpsons” (Fox)

4. “Supernatural” (CW)

5. “Once Upon a Time” (ABC)

6. “How I Met Your Mother” (CBS)

7. “Survivor” (CBS)

8. “Big Bang Theory” (CBS)

9. “Grey’s Anatomy” (ABC)