What makes these first week premiere numbers for 1899 so good is that there's a lot working against the series. There are no notable A-list stars at the forefront of the series to market it around, nor was the larger part of the plot revealed at all by the trailers. By marketing the show's mystique and playing up the association with the creative team behind another key Netflix show, the hit mystery show Dark, the streamer has found a winning formula. 1899 premiered to over 79 million hours in its first four days of release, putting it in a prime position to take the top TV spot next week as the audience for The Crown falls out.
Though 1899's first week numbers weren't quite to Dahmer or Cobra Kai numbers, it did EASILY top the opening weeks for the first season of The Sandman (a series that was renewed) and Resident Evil (a series that was cancelled). Considering this show, unlike both of those examples, is purely a Netflix original with no licensing costs from another entity, 1899 seems poised to not only bring in a ton of views (it could very well hit the All-Time Top 10 to boot) but also snag a rare early renewal. Check out the full Top 10 TV shows on Netflix for the past week below.
