Cable TV has it right – not much new in April going on so they bring back two of the biggest shows of the last few years and put them on Sunday night. The season premieres of both Mad Men on AMC and Game of Thrones on HBO were wildly anticipated across social media channels each seeing amazing buzz. Both of these two shows are wildly different in genre and scope but both have inspired near cult-like followings. In looking at how people talk about these shows, we see that the fantasy worlds of both shows inspire people to post, and really define how we all posted about them in the weeks around their premieres.
Both AMC and HBO pulled out the stops in building the buzz for both shows. With seemingly interminable breaks between seasons you would think people would lose interest, but if they did, both networks offered marathons of previous seasons to get their fans back up to speed on what has happened to their favorite characters. In posts about both shows, many fans posted about their plans to binge watch the marathons and count the hours until the premieres.
Each show has its own Twitter handle that actively posted in the days leading up to the event including posting new hashtags about the shows building the digital community around the shows. @GameofThrones has over 1.44 million followers with people being treated to videos, teasers and more. @MadMen_AMC teased the show with character stills and one liners, inviting people into the highly stylized world of the Mad Men character.
One significant difference between the shows is that almost half of the posts about Game of Thrones are about downloading and streaming it, rather than about the content, actors, etc. Look past that significant content driver, and people talk almost exclusively about the story-line and the individual journeys that these characters are on. Authors follow the story and post about the path the story is taking, with specific episodes including last season’s “Red Wedding” remaining hot topics.
Mad Men fans talk about the show more as a lifestyle and the characters as individuals in time rather than discussions of the storyline of the show. The Mad Men era setting is a huge driver as authors post about the cocktails, the clothes, and the characters’ smoking among other things. Authors discussed their clothes and menus for their “Mad Men” parties, with one author posting that he was growing out his sideburns during the marathon so that he could look the part at the premiere. We don’t see a lot of authors talking about what is going to happen to the characters, but more seem to enjoy being part of the world of Mad Men. It also is a fantasy, but one which more authors seem to want to be part of with their Mad Men parties complete with costumes and martinis.
Depending on how you look at it, the characters in both shows and the worlds they inhabit exist far and away from the world of social media. However, both shows have built a world of their own with their fans on social media and the many digital places people are gathering to talk about them, extending their time with the shows beyond the one hour they air per week. I don’t think you have to choose – you can definitely put on your cool suit, sip your martini and watch Game of Thrones. Plus, Mad Men airs right after Game of Thrones, so if you want, you can make a whole night of it.
