Was the expensive German series successful at all?

The swarm is probably the most important German series of the year. Hardly any TV production was more expensive and complex: the series is said to have cost 40 million euros. Only the budget of the German Netflix series 1899 exceeds the Frank Schätzing film adaptation by 10 to 20 million euros.

The broadcaster ZDF expected a lot from the broadcast. Did The Swarm live up to expectations? we look the ratings collected that grew weaker with each passing day. However, these figures are not sufficient for an overall assessment of success.

So many people saw Der Schwarm on ZDF

ZDF showed four double episodes on four consecutive days. Overall, they moved ratings of the eight Der Schwarm episodes at a very good level. There were as many people watching as there is usually only at a crime scene or a sports broadcast. The series was a hit purely in terms of ratings. However, after episodes 1 and 2, the curve pointed downwards, as reported by DWDL. Here are the average ratings for the four days of airing:

So with the exception of the finals, fewer people tuned in every day. Why is that?

Why the ratings are only half the story

One reason could be: The swarm disappointed the viewers and just didn’t keep his audience engaged. Many curious people tuned in at the premiere. The slump of almost 1.5 million viewers is blatant. At Moviepilot, the series only gets a weak rating of 4.4 points out of a total of 10. The reviews for the series were also mostly negative.

Another possible reason: after episodes 1 and 2, the audience did not wait for the linear broadcast on ZDF, but jumped straight to the one already in the media library available sequels. Because from Wednesday morning, March 8, 2023, all episodes were available online. A mixture of both factors was probably responsible for the downward trend: many viewers will have lost interest. Others were so engrossed that they looked straight ahead.

In general, the ratings in the case of The Swarm do not show the whole picture. Interest in the series existed long before it was broadcast on ZDF. The swarm was a media library success for ZDF: the series broke a streaming record with 18 million views. Netflix would also be enthusiastic about these numbers.

More articles about The Swarm:

Is The Swarm a million dollar grave or better than its reputation?

The ZDF production Der Schwarm devoured around 40 million euros. The publication was accompanied by a lot of criticism. Even bestselling author Frank Schätzing took a stand against the series.

In the podcast we therefore talk about the qualities of the series. Are millions of euros wasted here or can The Swarm keep up with the big competition from Hollywood? In addition, we speculate in the spoiler section whether the finale prepares for a second season.