New Netflix Series Close to Beating Stranger Things 4 on All-Time List
Another week and another batch of viewership data from Netflix has been released and the streamer could very well have a new #1 series very soon, or will it? With its fourth week of viewership now revealed, Netflix's latest hit original series Wednesday has now been watched 1.196 billion hours on Netflix, making it the #2 most-watched English-language TV show of all-time on the service behind only Stranger Things season 4. The only thing separating the two shows on the list is 156 million hours, so can the Jenna Ortega-led series take the top spot? Let's examine below.
The way Netflix calculates the success of its movies and shows is by measuring the viewership in the "First 28 Days." They measure it by this four week window because it's similar to a film's opening month box office, and gives new TV shows the opportunity to build word of mouth and develop an audience over that same time. All that in mind, despite the extreme success that Wednesday has had, it's going to be impossible for it to catch up and cross Strangers Things 4.
Since Wednesday was released on...Wednesday, November 23, that means that yesterday, Monday, December 19, was Wednesday's Day 27; while today, Tuesday, December 20, is Day 28. So unless Wednesday managed to be watched the same amount as its past week of viewership in just two days, Stranger Things 4 will keep its crown.
Granted it is worth noting however that Netflix could very well reveal details about milestones that Wednesday has crossed even after its "First 28 Days" window has closed. Official numbers for the show will still be released assuming that it manages to stay in the weekly Top 10 (which seems likely). In any event, Wednesday's success is a major one for Netflix, and even if becoming the #2 TV Series on their All-Time list is still a monumental achievement for the streamer.
Has Netflix renewed Wednesday?
Despite the huge premiere numbers for the ne TV series, Netlfix has not yet renewed the hit show Wednesday. Despite that not being the case, Netflix executives have teased not only their hopes for more seasons of the show but potentially spin-offs that touch on the rest of The Addams Family. The series has taken a big step forward as far as new episodes however with a writer's room for Wednesday season two opening up. Series showrunners Alfred Gough and Miles Millar previously spoke to Variety about the show's future too, with Millar noting:
"For us, it's always looking at the future, and when we sit down to create a show, it's looking at multiple seasons, ideally. That's never expected, but that's the anticipation that hopefully the show is successful. So you always lay out at least three or four seasons' worth of potential storylines for the characters. It can evolve and change. Often, you want to see which characters or cast pop and who you like to write for. So you want to keep it open and organic enough to change it and evolve, but we certainly have a pretty clear runway of what we want to do in future seasons."
(Cover photo by Rafael Henrique/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)