Stranger Things beats Bridgerton as Netflix’s most-watched English language show

STRANGER THINGS. (L to R) Eduardo Franco as Argyle, Charlie Heaton as Jonathan, Millie Bobby Brown as Eleven, Noah Schnapp as Will Byers, and Finn Wolfhard as Mike Wheeler in STRANGER THINGS. Cr. Courtesy of Netflix © 2022
STRANGER THINGS. (L to R) Eduardo Franco as Argyle, Charlie Heaton as Jonathan, Millie Bobby Brown as Eleven, Noah Schnapp as Will Byers, and Finn Wolfhard as Mike Wheeler in STRANGER THINGS. Cr. Courtesy of Netflix © 2022

Stranger Things 4 has long since become a landmark series for Netflix. With the streaming giant battling numerous problems, they needed a hit, and the iconic show has delivered. The fourth season racked up a further 159.24 million hours viewed during its second week of release, bringing the total number of hours viewed to an astonishing 781.04 million.

The latest Stranger Things series is set in March 1986, eight months after the events of season 3. In the series, our main cast has been split between Hawkins and California. A mysterious figure named Vecna is killing kids in Indiana, Joyce and Murray learn that Hopper is alive in Russia, and Eleven heads to a secret facility to try and regain her powers.

Seven episodes of season 4 have been released so far, with two more to follow on July 1. The show has shot straight to the top of the all-time 28-day most popular English-language shows list on Netflix, displacing Bridgeton.

Stranger Things bests Bridgerton, still behind Squid Game

Deadline reports that the number of streams of the series is such that Stranger Things season 4 already stands second on the complete 28-day all-time list, just behind Squid Game. This list includes all English and non-English programming. However, whether Stranger Things can displace the South Korean show is debatable, as Squid Game received an amazing 1.65 billion hours viewed in its first 28 days.

Whether Stranger Things 4 makes it to the top of the list isn’t likely to bother Netflix too much, however, with the series having already broken many other records for the streaming service, including:

  • It was the biggest premiere weekend for an English-language TV show on the service, racking up 286.79 million hours viewed.
  • The season has reached the number one position in 91 countries on the Netflix Top 10. This is a first for an English-language TV show.
  • 335.01 million hours of Stranger Things 4 have been viewed in the last seven days, making it the most-viewed season of any English-language TV show on the service.

Reaction to the latest series has also been positive, with an approval rating of 92% on Rotten Tomatoes. Metacritic meanwhile lists a score of 69/100, indicating “generally favorable reviews.”

The first seven episodes of Stranger Things 4 are available to stream now via Netflix. The final two episodes of the season will be released on July 1. A fifth and final season will air sometime in the future.

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