Men are skewing online ratings of female-oriented TV shows, giving them worse scores and dragging down the series average.
According to an analysis of IMDB ratings for popular TV shows by FiveThirtyEight‘s Walt Hickey, the more popular a show is among women, the more likely it is to be rated poorly by men.
One prominent example is HBO’s Emmy-winning “Sex and the City.” The show has received an average rating of 7.0 from IMDB users, with 60 percent of those rating the series being women. Among female users, the show has an average rating of 8.1. Among men, it’s a measly 5.8.
Looking at the English language series that received 1,000 or more ratings from users, Hickey found that the larger share of ratings coming from women, the lower men rated the show on average. And the effect is not nearly as severe in the opposite case.
The data also shows that men were more likely to give the lowest rating (1 out of 10) to shows more popular among women. 3.3 percent of the ratings by women for the top 100 male-skewing shows were 1 out of 10. But in the opposite case, men were twice as likely to pan a female-skewing show. 6.7 percent of the votes by men on the top 100 female-skewing shows were a 1.
And as Hickey points out, that’s not necessarily an indication of quality:
But the data doesn’t support the contention that female-skewed programming is inherently worse: Women gave their top 100 shows, on average, a 7.8 rating, about the same score they gave the top 100 male-dominated programs, 8.0. But here’s where that Twitter egg’s perception might come from: Men gave their top 100 an average score of 8.2 but gave the top 100 female-skewed shows a mere 6.9 average ratings. Shows with more than 10,000 ratings are inherently popular and yet men thought the programs in that group that skew female were below average.
But men and women did generally agree when it comes to their favorite shows. According to Hickey’s analysis, shows like “Game of Thrones,” “Sherlock” and “The Wire” were among the top-rated shows for both genders.
8 New TV Shows We're Dying to See Based on First-Look Trailers (Videos)
"No Tomorrow" (The CW): Tori Anderson looks to follow in the footsteps of Gina Rodriguez and Rachel Bloom as the network's latest quirky, funny leading lady, playing an uptight woman who's swept off her feet by a guy who may be crazy or may be right about the world ending in 8 months. The CW's dramedies have become just as important a part of the network's slate as its ever-expanding superhero adaptations, and this one looks like a fitting new addition.
"Pitch" (Fox): A story so timely it's written right in the trailer ("A true story on the verge of happening"), this drama about the first female Major League Baseball pitcher is ripe with possibility for emotion and drama.
"Designated Survivor" (ABC): It's one of those crazy-yet-true real life scenarios that seems primed for a TV series. Kiefer Sutherland as a Cabinet secretary who doesn't immediately know exactly how to kick ass and handle a situation? Intriguing and the story possibilities are endless.
"Star" (Fox): Lee Daniels might have another musical soap opera hit on his hands, this time from the perspective of struggling musicians rather than hip hop moguls. Queen Latifah and Lenny Kravitz give "Star" some star power, but it will be up to the three newcomers to really deliver.
"Training Day" (CBS): Antoine Fuqua returns to one of his most iconic works, by turning the tables on the "rogue cop mentors young protege" story for the modern age.
"Son of Zorn" (Fox): Leave it to Phil Lord and Chris Miller to come up with an animation-live action hybrid that feels truly original, with their signature subversive humor intact.
"Downward Dog" (ABC): Allison Tolman was a breakout star of FX's "Fargo," and she gets a scene-stealing co-star in this surprisingly touching and earnest (but still funny) look at the relationship between a dog and his best friend.
"Making History" (Fox): Time travel is a hot topic for this season's slew of new shows, and "Making History" is one of three, along with NBC's "Timeless" and ABC's "Time After Time." But Lord & Miller's comedic approach seems to rise above the others' more serious take on the subject matter.
1 of 8
From The CW’s “No Tomorrow” to ABC’s “Designated Survivor,” these are the shows that grabbed us
"No Tomorrow" (The CW): Tori Anderson looks to follow in the footsteps of Gina Rodriguez and Rachel Bloom as the network's latest quirky, funny leading lady, playing an uptight woman who's swept off her feet by a guy who may be crazy or may be right about the world ending in 8 months. The CW's dramedies have become just as important a part of the network's slate as its ever-expanding superhero adaptations, and this one looks like a fitting new addition.
