Image via Complex Original
Thanks to Twitter, technology has finally found a bridge between the urge of yelling back at the screen and not pissing people off with your loud ass commentary. Now more than ever people are watching TV while simultaneously keeping up with their Twitter timelines in search of fellow viewers. These days, such online fanships can make or break a show--though some shows are way much more fun watching with folks online (Scandal, anyone?). Here's a rundown of the 15 TV shows with the best Twitter fan bases. If you don't see yours, don't heckle my Twitter mentions; just use that show's hashtag more.
Catfish
I'm pretty sure what brings Catfish viewers together online is the notion that just when you think you do the absolute most online, the poor unfortunate souls on this show make you realize it could be far worse than it is. Plus, who doesn't love judging strangers? What makes Twitter-viewing this show even better is that by the third commercial break, the featured guests are found online and a roasting quickly commences.
Scandal
There's no other show right now that owes its success to Twitter more than Scandal. The network and everyone affiliated with the show recognize this, though they rarely if ever acknowledge which certain subgroup of Twitter first made it pop. Hint, hint: They are the same color as Kerry Washington. One can imagine why they don't want to state the obvious ("It's not just a 'Black show!'"), but don't worry, y'all are welcome all the same.
Game of Thrones
Fans of this show often behave as savagely as the HBO series' characters. Just ask Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers, who ended up having to offer a lil' apology after spoiling a major plot point on the show for some of his 965,000 followers on Twitter.
Keeping Up with the Kardashians
Week after week it's the same thing with viewers of the hit E! serious about the Armenian, talentless answer to the Jackson Family: "Why am I watching these people? No really, how do I keep getting sucked into this show? Ugh, Kourtney is annoying; Kris is crazy; Rob is lazy; Bruce's face scares me; Kim is so damn vapid; Poor, poor, Khloe...at least she's looking better now." And just when you think you're out of the vortex, you find yourself back by way of the constant repeats on Sunday night.
The Voice & American Idol
Live tweeting these shows is pretty much the equivalent of sitting in a really, really bad talent show and whispering, "Damn, that fool can't sing worth a single damn!" Only this time, nobody's mama can shush you for being disrespectful. So basically, it's kind of perfect.
The Real Housewives of Atlanta
It's one extended bitchfest accompanied with enough shade to block out the sun for several days--and that's just from the cast members tweeting about their co-stars during the first airing of the show. As for the fans, well, you are what you watch. Note: I watch it, too. There's also the usual "Why are y'all watching the destruction of black people, women, dogs?" messages that are constantly shut down. It's a vicious cycle and fans wouldn't have it any other way. And if you're wondering, the same applies for The Real Housewives of Wherever else.
Dexter
Now that the final season of the hit Showtime drama is upon us, expect avid viewers of the serial killer with a wee bit of sensitivity-centered series to be more engaged than ever before.
Boardwalk Empire
Nucky Thompson is one of the most interesting jackasses to appear in scripted drama in quite some time, so while this show is set nearly a century ago, the technological advances of today make watching Boardwalk Empire on Sunday nights all the better.
The Mindy Project
Not the largest fan base on Twitter, but certainly one of the more vocal groups of the bunch. This is in due in part to the show itself being very Twitter-savvy--including a Twitter account for the writers of the show. The Mindy Project is still trying to find its footing, but now that is as been guaranteed a second season, maybe this group will make lots of new online friends?
Pretty Little Liars
Not only did the season four opener generate nearly three million viewers, Pretty Little Liars managed to net 1.3 million tweets--which the network says makes it the "most tweeted" season premiere for any TV show. So yeah, that explains why I see so many grown ass people tweeting about an ABC Family show week after week.
Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta
As great as this hip-hop soap is on its own accord, you have to watch it with Twitter. There is absolutely, positively no better way than to watch this show with the rest of the fans. Start next Monday.
Check out all of our Season 2 recaps here.
Mad Men
If the point of Mad Men fans tweeting obsessively about this show is to make others feel less than for not following, keep up the work, guys. You're doing brilliant work.
Melissa Harris-Perry
The Tulane professor turned MSNBC Saturday morning news show host has a very active viewership that uses the hashtag "Nerdland" to stay connected. I suppose it makes sense that anyone who uses #Nerdland would be this engaged with politics on a Saturday morning: It's not like they were out riding out and getting it the night before. Just kidding, Nerdland, watchers. I'm one of you and am very well aware that you can party the night before and still get up in time to catch the wonderful Melissa Harris-Perry. I mean, if you're hungover in bed, you might as well be learning something.
Breaking Bad
Most of the tweets about this show are about how awful a person Walter is, but how awesome the show proves itself to be week after week. There's only one more season left of this show, so look forward to weeks of obsession over how the saga ends for the chemistry teacher turned meth dealer.
The Walking Dead
People who tweet about The Walking Dead are like unpaid publicists who deserve a raise. Case in point: I've yet to see more than one episode of this show and every one online tweets me like I'm the silliest person alive. One day I'm going to sit down and watch (and stop getting e-punked).