This CBS Spy Thriller Is Gunning for ‘Yellowstone’ on Paramount+’s Charts

The Big Picture

• CBS’s ‘Scorpion’ is close to overtaking Yellowstone on Paramount+ globally, ranking third in popularity as it surges around the world.
• The series, inspired by Walter O’Brien’s life, follows a team of problem-solvers tackling high-tech threats to national and global security.
• ‘Reacher’ showrunner Nick Santora developed the series, which ran from 2014 through 2018 and starred Elyes Gabel.

Taylor Sheridan‘s Yellowstone is facing some new viewership competition from a surprising source on Paramount+ right now. Scorpion, the CBS spy thriller that aired for four seasons through 2018, pulled within one spot of overtaking the juggernaut series on the platform’s global television charts today. It currently ranks third among all shows on the platform and, although exact viewership numbers aren’t available, it’s surged to, or close to, the top spot in terms of popularity in 17 countries. Only Yellowstone and the animated comedy favorite South Park remain ahead of the series worldwide.

Hailing from Reacher showrunner Nick Santora, Scorpion takes loose inspiration from the life and accomplishments of Scorpion Computer Services founder Walter O’Brien. While his claims have drawn scrutiny over the years, the show built a modestly popular story based on them following a fictional version of O’Brien who leads a crack team of experts to solve problems through his organization. Using their skills with the Department of Homeland Security and other private clients, they serve as the last line of defense against high-technology threats to national and global security. They crack complex issues where conventional methods fall short and become closer as a team throughout the process.

Scorpion premiered in 2014 and was immediately given a boost due to airing after the runaway hit comedy The Big Bang Theory. However, it continued to be a critical ratings success for CBS at a time when its 10 p.m. Monday night time slot was flagging. While it eventually ended up on the ratings bubble in 2018, it managed to gather a following during its relatively brief time on top and marked an earlier success for Santora as a showrunner and series developer before he took on the mega-hit Reacher. Critics were never quite as fond of it as they were the Alan Ritchson-led affair, however, but it still ended with an overall Rotten Tomatoes score of 61%.

Who Made Up the Cast of ‘Scorpion’?

Leading the on-screen team as O’Brien was Elyes Gabel, who has since been mostly absent from the screen outside of an appearance in FBI and a role in Apple TV+’s 2022 series Suspicion that reunited him with a fellow CBS star in The Big Bang Theory‘s Kunal Nayyar. He was joined in Scorpion by Katharine McPhee, Eddie Kaye Thomas, Jadyn Wong, Ari Stidham, and the T-1000 of Terminator 2: Judgement Day, Robert Patrick. Fittingly, Patrick would later reunite with Santora for Reacher Season 2, taking on the role of Shane Langston.

Scorpion is now streaming on Paramount+. Stay tuned here at Collider for more updates on the most popular streaming titles both in the U.S. and around the world.

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