What are Netflix's most-watched shows?
Netflix's Squid Game, a Korean action thriller series has shattered streaming records. We took a look at what had been the most popular shows until now.
The South Korean TV series, Squid Game, has gone viral.
A new poll from Morning Consult found that nearly 1 in 4 people in the United States has streamed Squid Game since it made its debut on 17 September.
Nearly 1 in 4 Americans has seen #SquidGame, according to a recent @MorningConsult survey, putting the South Korean survival drama on track to become @netflix’s most-watched original series ever. https://t.co/Qjx14GE1ij
— David Paulk (@davidpaulk) October 13, 2021
In light of this historic news, our team took a look back at some of the most popular shows that have been streamed on Netflix.
Most Streamed Netflix Shows
In September at CodeCon, Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos released some of the most sought-after information on the internet: series streaming data.
Streams by number of accounts
As of 28 September, the most viewed series on the streaming platform were:
- Bridgerton: Season 1 -- 82 million accounts
- Lupin: Part 1 -- 76 million accounts
- The Witcher: Season 1 -- 76 million accounts
- Sex/Life: Season 1 -- 67 million accounts
- Stranger Things 3 -- 67 million accounts
- Money Heist: Part 4 -- 65 million accounts
- Tiger King: Season 1 -- 64 million accounts
- The Queen's Gambit -- 62 million accounts
- Sweet Tooth: Season 1 -- 60 million accounts
- Emily in Paris: Season 1 -- 58 million accounts.
At the time of the conference, Squid Game was just gaining traction and thus did not make the list. However, with more than 111 million accounts having viewed at least a few minutes of the show it is now the leader of the list.
Number of hours streamed
Sarandos also revealed data on the number of hours certain programs have been streamed, which provides additional context into the viewing preferences of the platform's subscribers.
- Bridgerton: Season 1 -- 625 million hours
- Money Heist: Part 4 -- 619 million hours
- Stranger Things 3 -- 583 million hours
- The Witcher: Season 1 -- 452 million hours
- 13 Reasons Why: Season 2 -- 496 million hours
- 13 Reasons Why: Season 1 -- 476 million hours
- You: Season 2 -- 457 million hours
- Stranger Things 2 -- 427 million hours
- Money Heist: Part 3 -- 426 million hours
- Ginny and Georgia: Season 1 -- 381 million hours
Netflix during the pandemic
With many people stuck at home this past eighteen months, many streaming records have been broken.
Bridgerton
Bridgerton, the historical romance series with a modern twist, topped both of the lists. Released in December 2020 and was seen by 41 percent of all Netflix subscribers. The series, based on the book series by Julia Quinn, peaked at Number 1 on Netflix in 83 countries and made it onto the top ten list in all countries with Netflix except Japan.
Netflix has confirmed that the series will be back for a second season in January and will focus on the oldest Bridgerton sibling, Anthony.