The MacGyver Revival
To those too young to remember, myself included, the original MacGyver series ran from 1985–1992. It did very well for itself, with 7 seasons, 139 episodes, 5 awards and 4 nominations.
In 2016, the show was revived. Lucas Till (above) plays MacGyver, with a new and updated supporting cast. I personally would have imagined that those who watched the original series would be interested in the revamp, but social media tells a different story.
As it happens, social media makes a huge difference to television today. Millennials do not watch live TV anymore, but we will seek out a show that has caught our interest online.
Images like this (left) are the sort that catch the eye. I found out about MacGyver through an Instagram sponsorship post that came up on my ‘feed’. But just seeing snazzy photos is not how we’re caught up.
MacGyver (2016) is just one of the popular shows marketed to the millennial generation through social media outlets like Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook. Instagram is my personal favourite platform, to the point at which I now follow the show (https://www.instagram.com/macgyvercbs/), and each of its main characters to keep up with the things happening on the show.
Social media allows audiences not just to watch shows, but to interact with them. We don’t just see what happens on screen, but behind it. MacGyver uses outlets like Instagram to give audiences snippets and insights into upcoming episodes, to generate interest before the release.
Because of this, TV shows like MacGyver have deep interactions with their audiences. 10.2 thousand people see the photos the show post on Instagram, over 1500 people like these photos. They have used these outlets to remind fans to see them at panels, join them on set, and have brought themselves a huge following because of this.
Actors such as Lucas Till, George Eads, Tristin Mays, and Justin Hires (MacGyver, Jack Dalton, Riley Davis and Wilt Bozer respectively) all tweet along with the live shows, replying to those using the hashtag #MacGyver and talking to them about their opinions. Tristin Mays disputed a tweet about an episode during season 1 episode 13, defending her character’s strength. What seems brilliant about this is the open behaviour between the cast and the audience. Mays was not afraid to disagree with a fan, open up conversation with her and discuss opinions on the show.
Because of this, the show has the largest live following on the CBS channel, hitting 8 million active views, beating all other CBS shows, before taking on demand and in-app views into account.
This communication and openness of the channels between audience and creators allows a connection between types of media that is entirely new, and yet now central to the success of television and film viewers.
Following shows on social media causes them to be constantly in our minds, across our field of vision. In a day and age where people are overcome with attention grabbing stimulus, social media allows TV shows to stay present in our minds.
