Netflix’s most-watched show revealed as little-hyped spy thriller
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
A little-hyped spy thriller has topped the list of Netflix’s most-watched shows.
US series The Night Agent was crowned as the most-watched show on the streaming platform, racking up 812 million hours watched worldwide.
Starring American actor Gabriel Basso as a low-level FBI agent in the White House, The Night Agent beat the second highest show by almost 150 million hours in the first six months of 2023.
The Night Agent, which is based on a novel of the same name by Matthew Quirk, was followed by the second season of US family drama Ginny & Georgia and a dark Korean drama titled The Glory in third place.
Coming-of-age supernatural comedy television series Wednesday, starring Jenna Ortega and based on the character from the Addams Family, came in fourth and was watched for more than 500 million hours.
Other names in the top 10 include the psychological thriller You, FUBAR – starring Arnold Schwarzenegger – and Bridgerton spin-off Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story.
The numbers were published as Netflix revealed viewing data across its streaming service for the first time.
The US streaming giant has been criticised for its lack of transparency over audience numbers, but a long-running dispute with Hollywood unions and the launch of an ad-funded tier have forced the company to open its books.
Ted Sarandos, co-chief executive of Netflix, told a media conference call: “The unintended consequence of not having more transparent data about our engagement was that it created an atmosphere of mistrust over time with producers and creators and the press about what was happening on Netflix.”
The streaming behemoth’s first report covered more than 18,000 titles and nearly 100 billion hours viewed, representing 99 per cent of all viewing.
The new data also showed that the Duchess of Sussex’s TV drama Suits has racked up nine times more viewing hours on Netflix than her own documentary series with Prince Harry.
Netflix viewers streamed just under 534 million hours of the first seven series of Suits, which starred the Duchess of Sussex, in the first half of the year.
That dwarfed the 62 million hours viewers spent watching Harry & Meghan, a six-part documentary following the lives of the couple after their exit from the Royal family.
The figures, which cover global viewing from January to June this year, come despite Suits only being released on the US version of Netflix in June.
The American drama, which follows lawyers at a high-powered New York firm, was first released in 2011.
However, it has experienced a renaissance in recent months, in part thanks to the presence of the Duchess, who was then a relatively unknown actress.
The data also highlights viewer apathy towards the couple’s documentary in the months after its release.
The first part of Harry & Meghan became Netflix’s biggest documentary debut ever, racking up 81.6 million hours in its first four days last December.
But viewing figures quickly dropped off and the series was widely panned by critics.
Netflix’s new report follows a lack of transparency over their viewing figures becoming a major point of contention during walkouts by Hollywood writers and actors.
Writers argued that the company concealing its figures, which have been a secret for years, was a ploy to avoid paying more for the most successful shows. Unions have now won improved pay offers for their work on films and TV series released on streaming services.
In a blog post, the company said: “This is a big step forward for Netflix and our industry.
“We believe the viewing information in this report – combined with our weekly Top 10 and Most Popular lists – will give creators and our industry deeper insights into our audiences, and what resonates with them.”
The new report includes any title, original or licensed, that was watched for at least 50,000 hours in the six-month period, and the company has now committed to publishing this list twice annually.
