For movie and TV enthusiasts, Netflix is a treasure trove of award-winning dramas, hilarious comedies, and everything in between. Audiences have no trouble finding exactly what they crave, from the nail-biting thrills of “Squid Game” to the heartwarming adventures of “Stranger Things.”
Netflix has named its most-watched shows for the first time. Did your favorite show make this list? Let’s get into it.
Why Is This the First Time Netflix Is Releasing This List?
After keeping a very tight lip over the last several years about how content performs on the streaming service, Netflix has finally unveiled how its most popular series have been performing at least twice a year.
This “comprehensive deep dive” will report viewer data on more than 18,000 shows and 100 billion hours of watching time. Here are the top 10 most-watched shows from January to the end of June.
10. “FUBAR”
Coming in tenth, “FUBAR” had 226,200,000 hours viewed. The comedy action show starts with Arnold Schwarzenegger and Monica Barbaro.
“FUBAR” follows Luke Brunner leading a double life as a CIA operative. Unknown to him, his daughter is also a CIA operative, and the two will have to come together to work together. However, his daughter might also be a CIA operative leading a similar double life. The show also features many Easter eggs that allude to Schwarzenegger’s past filmography.
9. “Ginny & Georgia” Season 1
The comedy-drama “Ginny & Georgia” has over 302,100,000 hours watched. The show stars Brianne Howey and Antonia Gentry.
The comedy-drama follows the misadventures of the Miller family. The free-spirited mother and her two children are trying to navigate life in the small town of Wellbury, Massachusetts. The show premiered in February 2021 and quickly became one of Netflix’s most standout series.
8. “Outer Banks” Season 3
Season 3 of Netflix’s teen drama “Outer Banks” had 402,500,000 hours watched. The series stars Chase Stokes, Madelyn Cline, and Madison Bailey.
The series follows the teens in the coastal town on the Outer Banks of North Carolina as they look for treasure. The show is shocking and well-paced, keeping the audience hooked as they wait to see what happens next.
7. “La Reina del Sur”
“La Reina del Sur,” which stars Kate del Castillo, is a Spanish-language telenovela that has garnered 429,600,000 hours.
The telenovela follows Teresa Mendoza from Mexico as she becomes a powerful dealer in Southern Spain and the risk she takes as she makes a name for herself. “La Reina del Sur” is a prime example of telenovela content doing extremely well on Netflix, which is probably why the streaming service is greenlighting more series like it.
6. “You” Season 4
Season 4 of the trippy psychological thriller series, “You,” has over 440,600,000 hours watched. The series stars Penn Badgley as Joe Goldberg, a man who finds himself following various women he’s obsessed with.
Even though the series has been going on since 2018, the show has been a major game changer for Netflix. Even with the final fifth season coming up, “You” has encouraged Netflix to create more suspenseful series.
5. “Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story”
The limited series prequel to “Bridgerton” has garnered 503,000,000 hours viewed. The series follows a young Queen Charlotte and her marriage to King George III.
“Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story” stars India Amarteifio and Corey Mylchreest, and piggybacked off the massively successful Netflix series, “Bridgerton.” The show was an instant hit since it took time to focus on a central character that ties into each of the main characters on “Bridgerton.”
4. “Wednesday”
“Wednesday,” starring Jenna Ortega, had 507,700,000 hours watched. The “Addams Family” spinoff show created by Tim Burton became one of the streamer’s most successful series.
Following the gloomy daughter of the Addams family, the show follows Wednesday as she uncovers the mystery at her new private high school for supernatural students. Netflix quickly announced that the series was getting a second season after “Wednesday” became a pop culture phenomenon.
3. “The Glory”
The South Korean drama series, “The Glory,” captured 622,800,000 hours viewed. The series follows Moon Dong-eun, played by Song Hye-kyo, who is scheming to get revenge on her bullies.
While countless series and films focus on revenge, “The Glory” does it differently. The South Korean drama is highly dramatic and emotionally charged, like most K-dramas are. With other K-dramas succeeding on Netflix (“Squid Game” dominated Netflix in 2021), the streaming service has become the go-to hub for some of the best K-dramas coming out of South Korea.
2. “Ginny & Georgia” Season 2
If the first season landed on this list, then it’s no surprise that the second season of “Ginny & Georgia” would make it, too. With a staggering 665,100,000 hours watched, Season 2 of “Ginny & Georgia” proved even more popular than its predecessor
Season 2 of “Ginny & Georgia” sees Ginny trying to navigate her teenage life, knowing a secret about her mother that she isn’t supposed to know. Expanding on the show’s themes in nearly every way, the characters are much more enjoyable to watch and the twists are bigger and better than ever.
1. “The Night Agent”
Netflix’s most popular show at the beginning of 2023 was “The Night Agent.” With 812,100,000 hours watched, it’s no surprise that the Netflix action series is getting a Season 2.
“The Night Agent” follows FBI Agent Peter Sutherland, played by Gabriel Basso, as he uncovers a massive government conspiracy. The show embraced all of the tropes of the genre, and the characters are well-written, capturing audiences’ attention and cementing the show as an instant Netflix classic.
