Wednesday Beats House of the Dragon for Most-Watched Premiere of 2022

The Addams Family’s favorite daughter reigns supreme over streaming statistics. Netflix’s Wednesday skyrocketed in popularity this past year, releasing in November 2022 to significant critical acclaim. The positive reviews transformed the show into a viral sensation, with Jenna Ortega’s titular character’s now-famous dance going crazy on social media. All these factors led to Wednesday racking up a dozen television nominations including Golden Globe nods for Best Television Series (Musical or Comedy) and Best Television Actress (Musical or Comedy). It wouldn’t take long for Netflix to greenlight a second season, with the streaming giant confirming a sophomore installment is on the way a couple of weeks ago.

While Wednesday‘s success has already proven to be undeniable, new data has emphasized just how dominant the eight-episode first season was. Samba TV revealed that Wednesday brought in “about 66%” of its audience “in the first 15 days,” leading to the show having a “longer shelf life than most.” That lengthy window allowed Wednesday to defeat HBO’s House of the Dragon as the most-watched premiere of 2022 within the first 40 days. The Game of Thrones spin-off won the initial 15-day period.

Samba TV‘s report speculates that the reason for Wednesday‘s success goes back to the aforementioned virality of the series. Both Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story and The Watcher, also Netflix programs, experienced similar success, notably over-performing among Gen Z and millennial audiences.

Netflix will look to replicate Wednesday‘s accomplishments in the upcoming second season, which is currently without a confirmed production schedule.

“It’s been incredible to create a show that has connected with people across the world,” co-creators Alfred Gough and Miles Millar shared in a statement earlier this year. “Thrilled to continue Wednesday’s tortuous journey into season two. We can’t wait to dive head first into another season and explore the kooky spooky world of Nevermore. Just need to make sure Wednesday hasn’t emptied the pool first.”

While all focus at the moment is on Season 2, Millar noted that he has bigger picture aspirations for the Wednesday world.

“So you always lay out at least three or four seasons’ worth of potential storylines for the characters,” Millar said. “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.”

Wednesday Season 1 is now streaming on Netflix.