Wednesday beats House of the Dragon for most-watched premiere of 2022

Wednesday was an immediate hit for Netflix. Folks quickly fell in love with Jenna Ortega’s angry, dark, blank-faced Wednesday Addams. So it’s no shock to hear from Samba that Wednesday had the biggest premiere of 2022, besting even HBO’s Game of Thrones prequel show House of the Dragon.

According to Samba, shows generally have a limited window to capture the attention of audiences, usually about two weeks. Looking at data from 20 of the most popular shows from the second half of 2022 revealed that about “15 of them had driven more than 75% of their total 51-day viewership in the just the first 15 days of release.”

There was only one exception: Wednesday, which brought in only 66% of its viewers in the first 15 days, meaning it had a longer shelf life than most series. Within the first 40 days of release, Wednesday was the most-watched show of 2022, although House of the Dragon did still take the top prize for viewership within the first 15 days of release.

Wednesday, House of the Dragon popular with Gen Z audiences

The success of the Netflix series can be credited to the brand name, the show’s accessibility, and Ortega’s performance. And of course the viral dance helped.

Wednesday was one of several shows that over-performed with younger audiences, along with shows like House of the Dragon, Dahmer and The Watcher. I think it’s fair to say that if you want your show to do well, figure out how to appeal to Gen Z. They are driving most markets nowadays so if they say they love something, you’re doing alright.

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h/t Deadline