# Assistant to the Villain

> A TikTok skit became a novel that sold 35,544 US print copies in its first week.

- Owner: Hannah Nicole Maehrer / Entangled Publishing
- Kind: Book
- Sector: Entertainment
- Seed date: 2023-08-29
- Peak date: Week of Sep 11, 2023
- Date basis: Dates use the stated precision; chart positions are date anchors.
- Spread Score: 25 (Niche), v1.2
- Mechanics: Maker origin, Scarcity drop, Platform jump, Press loop, Pairing

## Summary

Maehrer developed her TikTok skits into a novel. The paperback led its trade chart on debut, and readers discussed it on Reddit and YouTube. Licensed merchandise followed, and Legendary Television acquired adaptation rights.

## Timeline

- 2023-07-23 — AhanaRao (Open web) — AhanaRao published an advance review and disclosed a copy supplied by the publisher.
- 2023-08-29 — Entangled Publishing (Retail) — Red Tower Books released Hannah Nicole Maehrer’s novel with a limited sprayed-edge first print edition.
- 2023-08-30 — u/EtherealMint (Reddit) — A reader posted a photograph of a delivered copy and asked about its red-sprayed binding.

The full timeline, metrics and sources are on the case page, or via the Pro API (https://howitspread.com/developers).

Canonical URL: https://howitspread.com/cases/assistant-to-the-villain

Cite as: How It Spread (2026). “Assistant to the Villain.” Case HIS-00720. Spread Score v1.2: 25/100. Updated 2026-10-14. https://howitspread.com/id/HIS-00720