Right on time, Stranger Things 4 demolishes Netflix viewing record
By Dan Selcke
The other week, we learned that Netflix had fired 150 employees after its first-ever subscriber dip. It was hard to believe that the undisputed king of streaming for the past several years may be reaching a tipping point.
But the streamer still has plenty of cards to play. This past Friday, it dropped the fourth season of the sci-fi/horror drama Stranger Things, which hasn’t seen new episodes in three years. Apparently the long wait wasn’t a problem for U.S. viewers, who watched 286.79 hours worth of the new season over Friday, Saturday and Sunday, according to IndieWire. And that doesn’t count Monday, which was a holiday, so the real “opening weekend” numbers are likely quite a bit bigger.
That is the best-ever debut for an English-language series, and it’s not close. The closest competition is Bridgerton season 2, which clocked in 193 million hours watched over its opening weekend. Stranger Things season 4 was also in the top 10 of all 93 countries where Netflix tracks viewership, and was number one in 83 of them.
Stranger Things vs Squid Game
The next viewing threshold to cross is views for an English-language show over the first month. That record is currently held by Bridgerton season 2, which racked up 656.26 million hours watched over its first four weeks on offer. Before that, the record was held by Bridgerton season 1, which racked up 625.49 hours. And before that, the record was held by Stranger Things season 3. Can the show top itself? The signs look good.
That said, Stranger Things has a way to go to topping Squid Game, a Korean-language sci-fi show that was watched for a ridiculous 1.65 billion hours over its first month. Eleven, Steve, Vecna and the rest have their work cut out for them.
Stranger Things 4 is a bit of an odd duck because not all the episodes have been released yet. We got the first seven on Friday, but the final two won’t be out until July 1. And the season finale is two-and-half hours long, so even if the show doesn’t beat Squid Game, it’ll set a record for something.
Next. Every episode of Stranger Things season 4, reviewed and explained. dark
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