Netflix has mastered the art of the “just one more episode” phenomenon, leaving us glued to our screens, debating fan theories, and eagerly awaiting the next big drop. But which shows have truly conquered the streaming giant, shattering records and becoming embedded in pop culture history? Thanks to Netflix’s own data, we have the definitive ranking of English-language originals based on a powerful metric: Views within the first 91 days of release.
So, grab your popcorn and get ready to relive some epic moments. From gothic mysteries to Regency-era romance and supernatural thrills, here are the 10 most popular Netflix TV series of all time, ranked.
10. Stranger Things 3
Views: 94,800,000 | Hours Viewed: 716,100,000
The summer of ’85 brought us mall culture, New Coke, and the Mind Flayer’s most terrifying form yet. This season cranked up the nostalgia to eleven (pun intended) while diving deeper into Cold War paranoia with a secret Russian base operating right under Hawkins’ shiny new Starcourt Mall.
What made this season particularly brutal was watching our favorite characters deal with the messy realities of growing up—Mike and Eleven’s relationship drama, Steve’s bromance with Robin at Scoops Ahoy, and Billy’s tragic arc as the Mind Flayer’s primary host. The season’s emotional gut-punch ending, featuring Hopper’s apparent sacrifice and the Byers family moving away, left fans reaching for tissues and frantically theorizing about what comes next.
9. Fool Me Once: Limited Series
Views: 98,200,000 | Hours Viewed: 629,800,000
This Harlan Coben thriller dropped on New Year’s Day and immediately had everyone hooked with its jaw-dropping twists. The series stars Michelle Keegan as Maya Stern, a former special forces pilot whose world turns upside down when she spots her supposedly murdered husband alive on her nanny cam, playing with their daughter.
What starts as a seemingly impossible sighting spirals into a labyrinthine conspiracy involving her husband’s powerful family, dark military secrets, and a web of lies that goes deeper than Maya ever imagined.
The series became a global phenomenon, reaching the Top 10 in 91 countries, with Coben’s signature blend of domestic drama and pulse-pounding thriller elements keeping viewers guessing until the very last frame. In its first week alone, Fool Me Once racked up an incredible 3.04 billion minutes of viewing time, making it the only series to cross the 2 billion mark in the first week of 2024.
8. The Night Agent: Season 1
Views: 98,200,000 | Hours Viewed: 803,200,000
The Night Agent is a high-stakes political thriller that came out of nowhere to become one of Netflix’s biggest hits. The series follows a low-level FBI agent, Peter Sutherland, who gets plunged into a vast conspiracy after answering a call on a top-secret emergency line. The show, based on the novel by Matthew Quirk, was an instant success and was quickly renewed for a second season. It held its own in the crowded spy thriller genre, keeping viewers on the edge of their seats until the very last minute.
7. Bridgerton: Season 3
Views: 106,000,000 | Hours Viewed: 846,500,000
Finally! After two seasons of pining, Penelope Featherington got her moment to shine in this friends-to-lovers masterpiece. This season flipped the script by focusing on Colin and Penelope’s relationship while dealing with the explosive revelation of her Lady Whistledown identity. The season was smart to split into two parts, building anticipation for that carriage scene that had the internet collectively losing its mind.
What elevated this season beyond typical romance was its exploration of female agency in Regency society—Penelope’s struggle between her secret career and societal expectations felt surprisingly modern. Plus, watching Colin transform from oblivious friend to passionate lover while Penelope found her confidence made for television gold.
6. The Queen’s Gambit: Limited Series
Views: 112,800,000 | Hours Viewed: 746,400,000
Checkmate, and the world watched. This stylish and gripping miniseries about a fictional chess prodigy named Beth Harmon took the world by storm. The show’s depiction of high-level chess was so accurate that it earned praise from the chess community itself. Its cultural impact was immense, leading to a massive surge in public interest in the game; chess set sales increased by over 85% in the month after its release. The series went on to win 11 Primetime Emmy Awards, including Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series, a first for a streaming service.
5. Bridgerton: Season 1
Views: 113,300,000 | Hours Viewed: 929,300,000
The series that started the Bridgerton craze introduced us to Daphne Bridgerton’s desperate quest to find a suitable husband during London’s 1813 social season. What began as a fake courtship with the rake Duke of Hastings, Simon Basset, to help her avoid unwanted suitors and restore his reputation blossomed into a passionate romance filled with intimate encounters, emotional manipulation, and that infamous “I burn for you” declaration.
The show’s genius lay in its modern approach to period drama—featuring diverse casting, contemporary music covers, and frank discussions about women’s agency that would make Jane Austen blush.
It became a cultural sensation, essentially reshaping the perception of Regency-era dramas with its modern sensibilities and inclusive casting. The show’s success has sparked trends in fashion, music, and social media, with creator Shonda Rhimes confirming plans for eight seasons in total, one for each of the Bridgerton siblings.
4. DAHMER: Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story
Views: 115,600,000 | Hours Viewed: 1,031,100,000
This chilling and controversial series from Ryan Murphy became a massive commercial success, reaching the number-one spot on Netflix in its first week. The show chronicles the horrific crimes of Jeffrey Dahmer, with a stated focus on the victims and the systemic failures that allowed the killer to operate for so long. The series sparked considerable debate and received backlash from some victims’ families who felt it retraumatized them. Following audience criticism, Netflix removed the “LGBTQ” tag that was initially applied to the series.
3. Stranger Things 4
Views: 140,700,000 | Hours Viewed: 1,838,000,000
The penultimate season of the Duffer Brothers’ sci-fi epic was its biggest and darkest yet. Featuring the terrifying new villain Vecna, this season was praised for its mature themes and stunning visuals. Much of Vecna’s haunting appearance was achieved through practical effects, with actor Jamie Campbell Bower spending over seven hours in the makeup chair for the transformation.
The season also made Kate Bush’s 1985 song “Running Up That Hill” a global hit again, after it was featured prominently in a key storyline. This season was so ambitious that it was released in two volumes, with a total runtime of over 13 hours.
2. Adolescence: Limited Series
Views: 142,600,000 | Hours viewed: 546,500,000
Brace yourself for this gut-wrenching British psychological thriller that’ll leave you questioning everything about teenage culture in the digital age. This four-part limited series follows 13-year-old Jamie Miller, arrested for the murder of his classmate Katie Leonard after she rejected his advances and mocked him online.
What makes Adolescence truly unforgettable does not have to do with just the harrowing subject matter—it’s the technical brilliance of filming each episode in a single, continuous take. Created by Stephen Graham and Jack Thorne as a response to rising knife crime among UK teens, the series examines the toxic influence of the manosphere on vulnerable young boys.
The show’s impact went beyond the screen, earning 13 Emmy nominations and even prompting Prime Minister Keir Starmer to host the creators at Downing Street and make the series freely available to all UK secondary schools. The series also sparked nationwide policy discussions about online safety and digital harm.
1. Wednesday: Season 1
Views: 252,100,000 | Hours Viewed: 1,718,800,000
Standing alone at the top of the charts is the gothic, mystery-infused series centered on the iconic Addams Family daughter. Directed in part by the legendary Tim Burton, the show was a perfect match for his signature spooky style.
Jenna Ortega, who plays the titular character, created the now-iconic Rave’N dance sequence herself, spawning countless TikTok recreations and turning Wednesday’s awkward moves into an internet sensation. The majority of the first season was filmed in Romania, whose gothic architecture provided the perfect backdrop for Nevermore Academy. With a staggering 252.1 million views, *Wednesday* proved that a dose of dark humor and mystery is a winning combination for Netflix viewers worldwide.