For years, Netflix was notoriously tight-lipped about viewership. The creator of House of Cards, which put Netflix’s original content efforts on the map, once said the company wouldn’t even share viewership metrics with him. But within the last two years, Netflix has grown much chattier about the popularity of its shows and movies to help recruit talent and stoke buzz. Netflix also added a top-trending ranking to its service, so people can see what the most popular titles streaming on Netflix in their country are on any given day.
However Netflix recently announced in a blog post that Bridgerton, the hit period drama that was recently renewed for season 2, has become the streaming service’s “biggest show ever.”
Netflix said that Bridgerton was watched by a record 82 million households globally (and counting) since it began streaming on Christmas Day. The show, produced by Shonda Rhimes, made the top 10 in every country except Japan and hit number one in 83 countries including the United States, the streaming service said.
This would put Bridgerton ahead of The Witcher, followed by Lupin, then Stranger Things’ third season and the fourth season of Money Heist to round out the top five most popular Netflix original series.
Regé-Jean Page, who stars as the sexy, slightly scandalous Duke of Hastings, reacted to the news on Twitter, writing, “82 MILLION. With love from all of us to all of you #BRIDGERTON.”
Main Lead-Regé-Jean Page’s Tweet
Duke Of Hastings With Wife Daphne
Bridgerton is based on the popular books by Julia Quinn, chronicles steamy romances among debutantes and their suitors, through the lens of a mysterious gossip columnist, Lady Whistledown (voiced by Julie Andrews).