Unless you've been hiding under a planet-sized rock for the past month (and, really, no one would blame you if that were the case), you will likely know that much of the TV-viewing world is all abuzz about Bridgerton. The Netflix romantic drama, which is based on a very popular series of novels by Julia Quinn, has captured the hearts, minds and eyeballs of many subscribers, who can't stop talking about all of the Regency-era gossip, fun reveals, witty banter and wonderfully scored sexytimes, among other things. Now, though, we know that Bridgerton has hit a major milestone in Season 1.
While some of us were busy picking apart the period details of Bridgerton, trying to figure out who Lady Whistledown was, or replaying one scandalous scene or another, we've helped to make the series the most watched show on Netflix...ever. According to Deadline, Bridgerton Season 1 racked up viewership in 82 million households around the world in the four weeks since its Christmas debut. Netflix had projected that a very high number of homes would tune in to at least give the series a shot, but the final number is a whopping 19 million households higher than expected. A diamond of the first water, indeed!
While the 82 million households included in the final number does include viewers who only watched a part of the series in the first four weeks after its release, this is still a massive achievement. After only 10 days on Netflix, Bridgerton was already the streamer's fifth biggest launch in its history, and now that the final numbers for the month are in, we know that 41% of Netflix's subscribers in the fourth quarter of 2020 took a trip back in time to give the sexy series a shot.
In fact, Bridgerton is now ranked number one in 83 countries, with it also making the Top 10 in every country where one can watch Netflix, with the exception of Japan. If you're wondering, Netflix is open for business in over 190 countries so...yeah, WOW.
So, let's compare this success to other recent Netflix hits, shall we? The Queen's Gambit, which was released to great acclaim in late October, nabbed 62 million households in the first four weeks of its release, meanwhile, Lupin (a French mystery about a gentleman thief / master of disguise) debuted on January 8 and has already found its way into 70 million homes.
The previous number one record holder, The Witcher, managed 76 million households in its first 28 days, and that was when the worldwide subscriber base was only at 167 million, where Bridgerton had to capture the attention of Netflix's record 200 million subscribers upon its premiere.
All in all, this is a very big deal, and signals very good news for Bridgerton fans. The show was recently officially renewed for Season 2, with filming set to begin sometime this spring, but, even better, the confirmation of its immense worldwide popularity will probably mean a pretty long run. There are eight novels in the Bridgerton books, which is not even counting one collection of new short stories for each sibling, two novellas, and four prequel novels. This means that, should the popularity continue, there's more than enough source material to keep things going and make viewers more than happy.
For now, if you're already feeling lonely without Anthony, Simon, Eloise, Penelope and the rest of the Bridgerton family and friends, you can always revisit Season 1 in its entirety on Netflix. For more to watch, check out our guide to the streamer's new releases this year and our full winter / spring 2021 premiere list!
