Significant losses for parts three and four of the eco-thriller series “Der Schwarm” on ZDF, which were again broadcast as a double episode: According to the official AGF figures, the 5.37 million viewers at prime time at 8:15 p.m. still mean a lot Distance the day’s win. However, a remarkable 1.45 million fewer people tuned in than at the start on Monday evening. The market share was a strong 20.1 percent, but on Monday it was still 24.4 percent.
The series, which was heavily criticized by the author of the original Frank Schätzing (65), has lost around a fifth or around 20 percent of its viewers. ZDF had previously published the series in its media library and reported a record last week: no other streaming series has had a better start.
The biggest competitor of “Der Schwarm” was on Wednesday evening at 8:15 p.m. the fifth episode of the Austrian series “Days that didn’t exist” with an average of only 2.42 million viewers. The series with Franziska Weisz, Diana Amft and Jasmin Gerat achieved its worst result so far.
The series “The Swarm” is based on Schätzing’s bestseller of the same name. The story of mysterious events in the depths of the oceans is told in a total of eight episodes. A group of international scientists discovers that an unknown species exists that is attacking humanity.
Schätzing massively criticized the implementation of the series in an interview with the weekly newspaper “Die Zeit”. In it he compared “The Swarm” with the kitschy Rosamunde Pilcher films: “It pilchers more than it raves.” He also criticized the integrated love stories of the characters: “Some things are ready for the cinema, other touching and talkative relationship box TV.” The series remains “below its potential”. Schätzing was initially involved in the implementation of the series, but left the project due to artistic differences.
