How Rotten Tomatoes Influences What You Watch

The site’s awards editor, Jacqueline Coley, on how RT reflects criticism today, plus what’s coming next for TV.

Whether you work in television or simply love to watch, you’re most likely familiar with Rotten Tomatoes, the review aggregation site known for snapshots of both the critical reception (the Tomatometer) and audience assessment (the Popcornmeter) of movies and TV shows.

Receiving the site’s coveted Red Tomato, which designates a project “Certified Fresh” — meaning a TV season that has received a Tomatometer score of 75% or higher, based on reviews from at least 20 critics — signals that you’ve hit the jackpot. Which is why these days you’ll occasionally find Rotten Tomatoes scores on billboards and ad campaigns for new releases.

Emmycontributor Christine Champagne spoke with Rotten Tomatoes awards editor Jacqueline Coley, who explained how the platform reflects the modern landscape of reviewing and shared what’s coming down the pipeline.

Tell us about your history with the brand.

I started as a film critic. At a film festival, I snuck into the Rotten Tomatoes party and just kind of ran my mouth. [I told an executive,] “I feel like I have a perspective as a Black woman reviewing a show like Scandal that is not reflected in your product.” The executives were actually looking to diversify the Tomatometer, and that kickstarted my work here. Nine years later, they would have to pry me out of the building, because I have the best job in <a href="https://comicvibe.com/when-winter-sports-meet-digital-entertainment-a-new-way-to-experience-the-cold-season/” title=”When Winter Sports Meet Digital Entertainment: A New Way to Experience the Cold Season”>entertainment.

You aggregate scores from a diverse range of TV critics and outlets. Not long ago, people decided what to watch based on the perspective of one TV critic, who probably wrote for the local newspaper.

Somebody under 35 may not know the name of a print critic, but they may know of a YouTuber like Chris Stuckmann, who’s been a longtime critic on Rotten Tomatoes. Or they may know the podcast of a former print critic now working independently. We don’t want our site to reflect where media was. We want to reflect where it is.

At a time when the industry is consolidating and in flux, what is the biggest challenge in running Rotten Tomatoes?

With all the change, it would be: How are we thoughtfully refining our product to reflect what the consumer needs? Because, at our heart, we are a consumer product. We are the tool that helps people who I like to say are high on interest but low on time.

What do you say to someone who criticizes the scoring system as overly simplistic, or who insists potential viewers aren’t getting enough out of glancing at the Tomatometer and Popcornmeter?

That is the easiest, most digestible way for you to interact on our site, but that’s not the only way. There are people reading the reviews. There are folks looking at the critical consensus. There are various ways people interact with our site to decide what they want to watch next. That is sometimes how those in the industry may look at the site, but as a consumer product, we know that folks interact with it on a much deeper level. We’re so much more than those scores.

Is there a difference in how Rotten Tomatoes works for TV versus film?

For the most part, it is the same. But on the film side, we have “Verified Hot” [a verified audience score of 90% or higher], which is something we don’t have on the television side currently. But it’s something we’re working on, because it has been such a great thing for films. Fans have already adopted it, and they’re using it to help guide them, as we say, to that next great watch