If you’re a true Netflix aficionado, then you’ve probably binged at least one – if not all – of the TV shows or movies on the list of their all-time most popular offerings.
While some of the top-ranking iconic names on the list, like Bridgerton and Money Heist, may not come as a surprise, the fact that Netflix has released the list is, well, a bit of a shocker. The streaming giant is notorious for keeping its data close to its chest.
Before today, they only shared a sparse amount of info surrounding what their 200 million+ subscribers tune into. One of these bread crumbs that dedicated Netflix viewers are probably familiar with is the ‘Top 10 watched in the US’ banners that appear on particular shows.
However, even these rankings are simply based on whether the viewer watched two minutes or more of the title, not whether it was continued past that point, or if the entire screening was watched.
So, today is somewhat of a historic day in relation to streaming activity. At the Vox Media’s Code Conference, Netflix co-chief executive Ted Sarandos revealed the top 10 most-watched original TV shows and movies in the history of the streaming service.
These Netflix originals were ranked by the number of households that started watching, as well as the number of hours that were spent watching shows or movies in the first four weeks after their release.
The stats were broken down into the following categories:
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- Top 10 Netflix TV series – based on the number of households who have watched at least two minutes
- Top 10 Netflix TV shows – based on number of hours watched
- Top 10 Netflix movies – based on the number of households who have watched at least two minutes
- Top 10 Netflix movies – based on the number of hours watched
Without further adieu, here are the top 10 most-watched original Netflix movies and TV shows since the platform started streaming original content in 2013.
Top 10 Netflix TV series – based on the number of households who have watched at least two minutes
1. Bridgerton S1 – 82 million
2. Lupin Pt1 – 76 million
3. The Witcher S1 – 76 million
4. Sex/Life S1 – 67 million
5. Stranger Things S3 – 67 million
6. Money Heist Pt4 – 65 million
7. Tiger King S1 – 64 million
8. The Queen’s Gambit – 62 million
9. Sweet Tooth S1 – 60 million
10. Emily in Paris S1 – 58 million
Top 10 Netflix TV shows – based on number of hours watched
1. Bridgerton S1 – 625 million hours
2. Money Heist Pt4 – 619 million hours
3. Stranger Things S3 – 582 million hours
4. The Witcher S1 – 541 million hours
5.13 Reasons Why S2 – 496 million hours
6.13 Reasons Why S1 – 476 million hours
7. You S2 – 457 million hours
8. Stranger Things S2 – 427 million hours
9. Money Heist Pt3 – 426 million hours
10. Ginny & Georgia S1 – 381 million hours
Top 10 Netflix movies – based on the number of households who have watched at least two minutes
1. Extraction – 99 million
2. Bird Box – 89 million
3. Spenser Confidential – 85 million
4.6 Underground – 83 million
5. Murder Mystery – 83 million
6. The Old Guard – 78 million
7. Enola Holmes – 77 million
8. Project Power – 75 million
9. Army of the Dead – 74 million
10. Fatherhood – 74 million
Top 10 Netflix movies – based on the number of hours watched
1. Bird Box – 282 million hours
2. Extraction – 231 million hours
3. The Irishman – 215 million hours
4. The Kissing Booth 2 – 209 million hours
5.6 Underground – 205 million hours
6. Spenser Confidential – 197 million hours
7. Enola Holmes – 190 million hours
8. Army of the Dead – 187 million hours
9. The Old Guard – 186 million hours
10. Murder Mystery – 170 million hours
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Watch the trailer for the most-watched Netflix original TV series of all time: Bridgerton.
