From Sean Lowe to Arya Stark, a number of popular television stars and characters made their way into our hearts — and our search bars — in 2013.
Below, we've compiled a list of the U.S.'s top 10 most-searched television shows of the year, according to BingTrends.com. Reality television had a stronghold on this year's rankings, with 5 of the top 10 shows. The Big Bang Theory was the only sitcom; premium cable drama Game of Thrones on HBO and AMC's The Walking Dead also made appearances. A staple of the morning show lineup, The Today Show made it to the top 10 list this year as well.
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American Idol remained strong, but fell from the #1 spot of 2012 to #2 this year, usurped by The Bing Bang Theory. Dancing With the Stars also dropped from its ranking the previous year, down four spots from the #2 spot in 2012 to #6.
Here are the full lists of top 10 results in the U.S. (spoiler alert!). Check out Bing Trends for more of this year’s top searched terms from around the world.
1. The Big Bang Theory — The popular sitcom is currently in its seventh season on CBS. The show, which chronicles the adventures and misadventures of four geeky intellectuals (Leonard, Sheldon, Howard and Raj) and their common-sense counterpart, Penny, is one of the most-watched shows in the U.S. and has steadily grown in popularity since its debut in 2007. The show won three Emmys (and was nominated for a total of eight) in 2013, including Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series (Jim Parsons).
2. American Idol — The 12th season of the wildly popular reality singing competition premiered in January of 2013. For the first time in the show's history, the top five contestants were narrowed down to a group of all women. Another anomaly in the 2013 season was the lack of a Judges' Save, meaning that the top four contestants had one extra week to re-perform, carrying over votes from the previous week with no eliminations. Gearing up for the 2014 season, judges Randy Jackson, Mariah Carey and Nicki Minaj have all decided to leave the show — but Keith Urban will be returning for season 13, alongside Grammy-winning artist Jennifer Lopez and Harry Connick, Jr.
3. The Walking Dead — The aptly timed horror drama on AMC debuted its latest season in mid-October of 2013, just a couple of weeks before Halloween. The show, cited for its emotionally resonant, compelling script, as well as makeup and production, has a fanatical viewership. This season saw a few major events including Lori's death, the invasion of Woodbury, and Hershel's beheading in the season finale, among others. Fans will have to wait for the aftermath of the jaw-dropping finale until the show returns in February 2014.
4. Downton Abbey — The British drama Downton Abbey may take place in the early 1900s, but people can’t get enough of it in 2013, making it the #4 most-searched television show. The show, which came to PBS in the U.S. in 2011, has earned the most Emmy nominations of any international television series in the award ceremony's history. The compelling period drama returns to screens for a fifth season in 2014.
5. Game of Thrones — Game of Thrones fans are still recovering from The Rains of Castamere, the ninth episode in the season this year that saw the gruesome deaths of a few of the show's long standing protagonists. The show dominated social media feeds over the course of the season, peaking during and after the now-infamous Red Wedding. Game of Thrones returns to HBO in spring 2014.
6. Dancing with the Stars — ABC's celebrity dance-off is another reality show with the perfect cocktail recipe of fan favorites: celebs, music, talent, audience participation and inspiring comebacks. The show has lasted for an impressive 17 seasons, with seasons 16 and 17 running throughout 2013. This year hosted the show's 300th episode.
Other notable events this year included Dorothy Hamill's withdrawal due to injury as well as the Zendaya/Valentin Chmerkovskiy elbowing incident — which, despite resulting in Chmerkovskiy receiving 14 stitches, ultimately didn't hinder the couple from finishing in second place for season 16. Country music singer Kellie Pickler took home first place for the March-May season. Season 17 touted the talents of some unconventional participants such as Bill Nye the Science Guy, experimented with a new format of voting, and ultimately rewarded Glee actress Amber Riley with the win in the season finale.
7. The Today Show — NBC's popular morning show, which has been around since 1952, continued to flourish this year. 2013 saw the likes of Paula Deen amidst controversy, redemption for Miss Utah and Richard Branson's announcement that Virgin Galactic's first commercial space flight will air on Today in 2014.
8. Big Brother — Big Brother is watching, and so are viewers. The U.S. version of the reality game show has been around since 2000 and lays claim to being one of the longest-running reality television series still on the air. Season 15 was particularly controversial, with all three finalists (Andy Herren, GinaMarie Zimmerman and Spencer Clawson) publicly fired or rebuked by their employers for behavior on the show. Herren won the season in September.
Image: Denise Truscello/WireImage
9. The Bachelor/Bachelorette — Another popular reality series that has stood the test of time, ABC's The Bachelor and The Bachelorette continue to entice viewers to follow the love lives of contestants year after year. 2013's Bachelor featured Sean Lowe, who joined the cast of another top-10 show Dancing With the Stars after the dating game show's finale. To date, Lowe and Catherine Giudici (this season's winner) remain engaged, with plans for a televised wedding in January 2014. Spinoff The Bachelorette completed its ninth season this year, and featured Desiree Hartsock — now engaged to show winner Chris Siegfried.
10. Honey Boo Boo — TLC's Here Comes Honey Boo Boo chronicles the lives of child beauty pageant contestant Alana "Honey Boo Boo" Thompson and family. The show completed its second season in 2013 and is scheduled for a third, debuting in January 2014.
In addition to sitcoms, shows and series, there were a few interesting trends regarding daytime talk shows and morning TV.
Ellen DeGeneres continued her reign, claiming the most-searched talk show this year, with Bethenny Frankel’s new show, Bethenny, skyrocketing to second place. Longtime fan-favorite Live with Kelly and Michael rounded out the top 10.
The Today Show topped the list of most-searched morning television, followed by Good Morning America. The top five was rounded out by Fox & Friends and then CBS This Morning.
Below is the complete list:
Most-Searched Daytime Talk Shows 1. Ellen 2. Bethenny 3. Dr. Oz Show 4. The Chew 5. Wendy Williams 6. The View 7. Dr. Phil 8. Rachael Ray 9. The Talk 10. Kelly and Michael/Live with Kelly
Most-Searched Morning Shows 1. The Today Show 2. Good Morning America 3. Morning Joe 4. Fox & Friends 5. CBS This Morning
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The data above comes from Bing's 2013 search data. Spam and repeat queries have been filtered to build a database that reflects the most compelling trends of 2013.
Image: Cliff Lipson/CBS via Getty