Women continue to lead overall streaming engagement and shows led by people of color have enjoyed higher ratings across demographics, the latest UCLA Hollywood Diversity Report finds. But despite those gains, the researchers found that actors of color were represented in only 24% of the most-watched shows on streaming platforms in 2023 and that 80% of the top series were led by white actors.
The newest iteration of the report, released Tuesday and reviewed by TheWrap, looked at the top 250 streaming TV series ranked by their Nielsen total minutes viewed between Jan. 1 and Dec. 31, 2023. Streaming subscription platforms considered included Amazon Prime, Apple TV+, Disney+, Hulu, Max, Netflix, Paramount+ and Peacock.
Researchers indicated women over-indexed for nine of the top 10 shows ranked by total household minutes. As engagement in TV and streaming continued to ebb and flow, researchers at UCLA wanted to find where “future success lies for the small screen” in the most recent study.
Just over half (56%) of the most-streamed shows were current titles, and the team at UCLA found that the list of the top 10 most-streamed shows changed dramatically when ranked by total household ratings instead of minutes viewed.
Long-running shows like “Suits,” “The Big Bang Theory” and “Grey’s Anatomy” — all led by white actors and stars — were included in the top 10 when based on minutes viewed. But once household ratings were emphasized, the list of top 10 streaming series included “Wednesday” and “Beef,” both of which boast more racially and ethnically diverse cast members within their top-billed talent.
“To really understand what people want to watch – and what drives people to subscribe – the industry needs to realize that it’s about more than just tallying minutes,” study co-author Michael Tran said.
The report also looked at genres and story themes for the first time, and concluded that more than 60% of the top shows had secondary themes centering on women and/or LGBTQ characters. Despite those gains, less than a quarter of the top shows of 2023 showcased underrepresented stories.
“The future of the industry lies in stepping away from this reliance on old and dated content,” Tran continued. “So-called ‘comfort television’ won’t bring in first-time subscribers or keep people from canceling their subscriptions. They need something new.”
Despite a clear increase in ratings for shows with lead actors of color, such actors only made up 24% of those represented in the top-streamed series. Asian, Black, and Latinx audiences indicated their top shows all featured lead actors of color. Male viewers aged 18-49 also rated shows led by a person of color higher than white-led shows by nearly a factor of two.
Women also led audience numbers, whereas men 18-49 were less engaged than any other group. “Hollywood benefits greatly when women are free to wield their own economic power,” Ana-Christina Ramón, co-founder of the Hollywood Diversity Report, explained.
“In the entertainment industry, women have long been narrowly defined and undervalued as a market and, ultimately, taken for granted. Women are a central, driving force in television viewership and should be treated accordingly,” Ramón added.
Researchers also found that despite higher viewership numbers, there are still limited opportunities for women and people of color working behind the camera. Of 228 scripted series in the top 250 shows, only 11% had a creator of color and 25% had a female creator. White men made up 77.3% of all show creators, and only 14.8% of their shows featured underrepresented stories.
White men also accounted for 46.3% of all TV deal recipients last year.
Additionally, just 14.3% of lead actors had a known disability and there were no female creators who were Latina, Native or Middle Eastern and North African and zero Native or Middle Eastern and North African female leads or co-leads in the included streaming series.
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