It’s the most wonderful time of the year: “Actors on Actors” season, that is!
Season 18 of the beloved Variety series, which celebrates the biggest stars in this year’s Emmys race, reached new heights on social media with over 85 million total views across platforms.
This round’s pairings included Jenna Ortega with Elle Fanning, Pedro Pascal with Steven Yeun and a highly-anticipated “Grey’s Anatomy” reunion for Katherine Heigl and Ellen Pompeo.
Once again, the series took over TikTok during its two-week run, racking up over 66 million views and gaining over 100,000 new followers on the entertainment trade’s account. Top performing videos on the platform include Ellen Pompeo’s realization that Meredith Grey was the original “pick me girl,” Jeremy Allen White’s curiosity over Jennifer Coolidge’s most iconic “White Lotus” line and Jenna Ortega’s emotional appeal for kindness on social media.
“We are stunned by these numbers and so proud of the producing, editing, writing and social media rollout by our team at Variety,” said co-editor-in-chief Ramin Setoodeh. “Their vision has made ‘Actors on Actors’ one of the biggest entertainment franchises on the internet.”
This is the latest in a string of success for Variety’s social team, led by editor Katcy Stephan with coordinator Rachel Seo. Earlier this year, they broke a record for the brand’s highest-ever day of social traffic with the 2023 Oscars, and delighted the internet with the viral story of a cockroach that walked the Met Gala red carpet (and its untimely death).
“Under Katcy and Rachel’s leadership, our social engagement has grown in every sector, but especially shines during special projects like ‘Actors on Actors,’” said William Earl, the editor of Variety.com. “The social performance reflects the effort that went into this project from everyone in the newsroom and allowed us to put our best foot forward for this special rollout.”
