Ultimately, Netflix (NFLX) is in the volume business.
The streaming giant released 129 different original titles in both the third and fourth quarter of last year, according to Statista, and since the second quarter of 2019, it usually drops at least 100 titles a quarter, meaning a mixture of television series, original movies, stand-up specials, game shows and the like.
Netflix spent $17 billion on content last year, and is expected to spend about $19 billion this year. So even though its stock price took a big hit recently, it’s not likely to slow down on spending anytime soon, as it needs to keep delivering shows and movies that will keep subscribers from churning out.
The company takes a something for everyone approach, so no matter your demographic breakdown or personal taste, it’s likely they’ll produce something you might want to check out. But while Netflix has a lot of content…is any of it any good?
Netflix shows tend to get dinged by critics and hardcore TV fans for lots of different flaws, from a tendency to prioritize a season-length story over distinctive episodes of television to not living up to an interesting premiere to overall being too indistinguished and/or mediocre to care about one way or the other.
Taste is subjective, of course, and what mass audiences like and what critics like very often don’t intersect.
Some people come to television shows for great performances, interesting characters and compelling storylines. And other people just want to watch things blow up or attractive people in various states of undress.
ScreenCrush recently released a list of the most popular Netflix series of all time, based on the amount of hours subscribers watch a series “in the first 28 days that a title is available on the service.” In this particular list, ScreenCrush broke it down by seasons of television, not the series as whole, so we’ll also follow that metric.
So what were the most popular titles, and what did the critical aggregation site Rotten Tomatoes have to say about the people’s taste?
1. “Bridgerton” Season 2
The second season of the Shonda Rhimes’ bodice ripper “Bridgerton,” premiered less than a month ago, and it’s already the most popular season of a Netflix show ever, pulling in 627.1 million hours of streaming.
And with a Rotten Tomatoes score 77%, critics generally like it, with some writers noting that by easing off all the sex scenes that first caught audiences' attention, the show has room for a more compelling storyline.
2. “Bridgerton” Season 1.
“Bridgerton” quickly became a smash after dropping on Netflix at the end of 2020, as a pandemic-bound audience was delighted to have some soapy, silly fun, to the tune of 625.4 million hours.
While the show got criticized for its colorist lens at times, it has a Rotten Tomatoes score of 87%. While critics weren’t exactly rushing to proclaim it the next great capital G Great drama or anything, they conceded that Rhimes had once again provided the sort of escapist fun people needed.
3. “Stranger Things” Season 3
Until all those “Bridgerton” alleycats started taking their clothes off, “Stranger Things” was the crown jewel of Netflix and its signature show, at least in terms of popularity.
The third season clocked 582.1 million hours of streaming in its 28 days, and with a 89% Rotten Tomatoes score, critics largely thought the magic was still there, even if the show was starting to get a bit predictable.
4. “The Witcher” Season 1
Based on a popular video game, “The Witcher” became a surprise hit with 541 hours, even spawning a popular TikTok meme with the song “Toss A Coin To Your Witcher.” The critical average on Rotten Tomatoes is 68% fresh, which based on the sliding scale of video game adaptations is basically a rave.
5. “Inventing Anna”
Adapted from a viral New York article, the popularity of “Inventing Anna,” (511.9 hours in 28 days) proves once again that America just can’t get enough when it comes to content about scammers. But with a 63% rating, critics weren’t exactly charmed, as “The Dropout” remains, at least in the eyes of critics, the scamming show to beat.
Image Source: Shutterstock.
6. “13 Reasons Why”: Season 2
For reasons that would constitute a spoiler, critics generally felt that the second season of “13 Reasons Why,” about the aftermath of the suicide of a high school student, was distasteful, redundant and altogether gross, resulting in a score of 28%. Nonetheless, it generated 496.1 million hours of streaming.
7. “The Witcher”: Season 2
People tossed 484.3 million hours of streams to the second season of “The Witcher,” and critics, who were more into this series than a casual observer might think, tossed it a 95% Fresh rating.
Keep in mind that in the case of some genre shows, specialty critics will give something a rave while a more generalist publication might skip reviewing it all together, which sometimes skews the aggregated ratings total.
8. “13 Reasons Why”: Season 1
The first season of the problematic young adult drama earned 475.5 million hours of streams, and critics were a bit more on board with it back then, with a Fresh rating of 77%.
9. “Maid”
Based on an acclaimed memoir by Stephanie Land, the miniseries cleaned up 469.0 million hours, and delivered a 94% Fresh rating, with many critics calling it one of Netflix’s best offerings in a while.
10. “You”: Season 3
In addition to scammer content, America also loves its serial killer content, and “You,” which began as a story of a single stalker and serial killer but then by season three turned into the story of a couple of married psychopaths, managed to seduce America to the tune of 467.8 million hours. Critics also thought it was the best season yet, delivering a 95% Fresh rating.
