Netflix UK reveals biggest shows for ‘binge racing’
Black Mirror, Luther and Santa Clarita Diet make the list of the Netflix Originals viewers couldn't wait to finish
Marvel’s The Defenders was the most eagerly binged show on UK Netflix, according to a ranking released by the notorious secretive company.
Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life, a highly-anticipated four-part revival of the early 2000s comedy drama, came in second in the list of 20 Netflix Originals which had the highest number of viewers who polished off the entire series within 24 hours of release.
Netflix is well-known for its refusal to share audience figures for its content, meaning the newly released list is one of the best official insights so far into which shows are a hit with subscribers.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
One figure the company did share reveals the extent to which “binge racing” has become normalised. A “staggering” 8.4 million Netflix viewers have consumed an entire series within 24 hours, The Independent reports.
So what else is on the list? The UK’s favourites overlap significantly with the US, with viewers on both sides of the Atlantic gripped by critically acclaimed originals like Stranger Things, Santa Clarita Diet and The Seven Deadly Sins.
However, a few cultural differences are evident in the lists. While Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, Trailer Park Boys and Bojack Horseman were instant hits with British and American viewers alike, other comedies - such as Aziz Ansari’s Master of None - seemed to appeal mostly to a US audience.
Most notably, Fuller House, a revival of 1987-1995 sitcom Full House, was the second-most eagerly binged show on US Netflix. However, the show - best known for launching the Olsen twins’ careers as child stars - never developed a following in the UK, and the reboot does not make the UK Netflix top 20.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Gritty London-set crime drama Luther comes in at number six on the UK list, but does not appear at all on the US favourites, despite having developed an American fanbase thanks to the transatlantic appeal of star Idris Elba. Charlie Brooker’s dark sci-fi anthology Black Mirror met a similar fate.
Here are the Netflix Originals that UK viewers devoured fastest:
1. Marvel’s The Defenders
2. Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life
3. The Seven Deadly Sins
4. Santa Clarita Diet
5. Orange is the New Black
6. Luther
7. F is for Family
8. Trailer Park Boys
9. Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt
10. The Ranch
11. Atypical
12. Stranger Things
13. Love
14. BoJack Horseman
15. Black Mirror
16. Wet Hot American Summer
17. House of Cards
18. GLOW
19. Grace and Frankie
20. Marvel’s Daredevil
-
What’s the best way to use your year-end bonus?the explainer Pay down debt, add it to an emergency fund or put it toward retirement
-
What are portable mortgages and how do they work?the explainer Homeowners can transfer their old rates to a new property in the UK and Canada. The Trump administration is considering making it possible in the US.
-
10 concert tours to see this winterThe Week Recommends Keep cozy this winter with a series of concerts from big-name artists
-
The 8 best sci-fi series of all timethe week recommends Imagining — and fearing — the future continues to give us compelling and thoughtful television
-
The 8 best action movies of the 21st centurythe week recommends Thrills come in many forms, from assassins and spies to regular people fighting for justice
-
The 5 best narco movies of all timethe week recommends Cartels from hell and the greasy underside of the international drug trade
-
The Beast in Me: a ‘gleefully horrible story’The Week Recommends Claire Danes and Matthew Rhys star in a ‘gleefully horrible story’
-
The 8 greatest heist movies of all timethe week recommends True stories, social commentary and pure escapism highlight these great robbery movies
-
Gen Z in Los Angeles, the end of ‘Stranger Things’ and a new mystery from the creator of ‘Breaking Bad’ in November TVthe week recommends This month's new television releases include ‘I Love L.A.,’ ‘Stranger Things’ and ‘Pluribus’
-
The 5 best political thriller series of the 21st centuryThe Week Recommends Viewers can binge on most anything, including espionage and the formation of parliamentary coalitions
-
The 5 best TV shows about the mobThe Week Recommends From the show that launched TV’s golden age to a Batman spin-off, viewers can’t get enough of these magnificent mobsters