Netflix‘s latest data dump is here and, as trailed by Ted Sarandos earlier this week, the Brits have dominated the TV series listings.
Harlan Coben adaptation Fool Me Once led the pack in the first half of 2024 with more than 100 million views globally, just ahead of the third season of Bridgerton on 91.9 million. Bridgerton had an epic six months, with its first and second season also making the top 20 with 38.4 million and 34.2 million views globally.
After Bridgerton Season 3 came Baby Reindeer – the controversial smash series that is currently subject to a lawsuit – watched by 87.6 million, with The Gentlemen next with 75.9 million.
The most-watched U.S. series was Avatar: The Last Airbender in fifth with 71.1 million, followed by Griselda.
Completing the Brit domination, One Day came 10th and means that half of the top 10 were either made or commissioned out of the UK. Together, the top five British shows amassed around 400 million views over the period.
It was also a strong six months for 3 Body Problem and Berlin, which came eight and ninth respectively. The top-rated unscripted offering was The Roast of Tom Brady, which was down in 26th place with 22.4 million.
The figures were contained in Netflix’s latest data dump aka its What We Watched report for the first half of this year. The top four didn’t come as a surprise, given that Netflix boss Sarandos was trumpeting the success of the British-made shows at RTS London earlier this week. According to the report, audiences watched 94 billion hours of Netflix content, which was just ahead of the previous six month period. The previous six-month period saw One Piece and Julia Roberts movie Leave the World Behind dominate.
The streamer has been upping its transparency levels and now publishes the reports every half year, along with updating its top 10 lists weekly.
The report splits series by season, which means that longer-running shows that may have generated far more viewership won’t show up high in the rankings, putting Netflix originals at an advantage.
The report encompasses Netflix’s entire catalog, meaning that there are thousands of titles. More insights will be incoming throughout the day.
