I’m not ashamed to admit it: #TGIT. It wasn’t easy, but with a little patience we are finally back to regularly scheduled programming.
What day is it? THURSDAY. Retweet to spread the word: #TGIT is back! (@ScandalABC @HowToGetAwayABC @GreysABC) pic.twitter.com/LLZ1BjxeVf
— Good Morning America (@GMA) January 29, 2015
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ABC execs are excited to have their audience back, too. Every ABC morning and late show is stacked with Shondaland casts. To celebrate the return of “Grey’s Anatomy,” “Scandal,” and “How to Get Away With Murder,” every cast member will be on Twitter tonight, live-tweeting their shows, along with #Shondaland producers.
I get anxious just imagining you guys watching tonight’s episode. #scandal #TGIT — kerry washington (@kerrywashington) January 29, 2015
I love my cast! Who’s live tweeting with us tomorrow for #TGIT? I’ll be there for BOTH coasts! #HTGAWM @ShondalandTV pic.twitter.com/gqwI0qjmDh — Viola Davis (@violadavis) January 28, 2015
“Scandal” alone drives almost 400,000 tweets per episode, with “Grey’s” and “HTGAWM” pulling in around 200,000 each, according to Nielsen’s Social Ratings. Sure, there are lots of twists, turns, and a dedicated fan base. Perfect for live tweeting. But the #TGIT campaign, including its “withdrawal” counterparts, is a strong push from the network, tapping into our lizard brains that just want to veg and make sure we’re included, invited to hang out with everyone else. If you watch “How to Get Away With Murder” and don’t read the snarky tweets about the bad lighting, did you even watch it all? Even respectable human beings turn into fan girls:
RT @kerrywashington: It’s #ScandalThursday !!!!!!!!!!!!!! <— I’m rettogo!
— Jonathan Capehart (@CapehartJ) January 29, 2015
Maybe it’s good programming. Maybe it’s great social media marketing. It might be a little bit of both. In any case, if you aren’t on Twitter tonight, you can’t sit with us at lunch tomorrow.