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.
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.
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
-
7 mountain hotels perfect for a tranquil autumn or winter escapeThe Week Recommends Get (altitude) high and unwind
-
‘Deskilling’: a dangerous side effect of AI useThe explainer Workers are increasingly reliant on the new technology
-
The biggest sports betting scandals in historyIn Depth The recent indictments of professional athletes were the latest in a long line of scandals
-
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
-
Tim Robinson falls out of a chair, chefs compete for Michelin stars and Martin Scorsese gets the documentary treatment in October TVthe week recommends This month's new television releases include ‘The Chair Company,’ ‘Knife Edge: Chasing Michelin Stars’ and ‘Mr. Scorsese’
-
Jump scare! Evil villain! These are fall’s most exciting horror movie releases.The Week Recommends An Airbnb rental gone wrong and another ‘Frankenstein’ adaptation highlight this autumn’s horror crop
-
'The Office' spinoff, a 'Mare of Easttown' follow-up and the Guinness family royalty in September TVthe week recommends This month's new television releases include 'The Paper,' 'Task' and 'House of Guinness'
-
The best limited series of all timethe week recommends Trading cliffhangers and endless renewals for narrative closure
-
The return of 'Wednesday,' an 'Alien' prequel and a dramatic retelling of the Amanda Knox trial all happening in August TVthe week recommends This month's new television releases include 'Alien: Earth,' 'The Twisted Tale of Amanda Knox' and a new season of 'Wednesday'
-
The 5 best TV reboots of all timeThe Week Recommends Finding an entirely new cast to play beloved characters is harder than it looks
