A record-breaking 82 million households around the world watched the Regency-era show in its first 28 days
In recent months, Netflix's popularity has gone through the roof. With newly released shows proving to be huge smash hits—from The Witcher and The Queen's Gambit to Lupin—with one dethroning the other to be the streaming giant's biggest show.
This author is happy to announce that Bridgerton, the Regency-era drama has taken the spotlight as Netflix's most watch show ever––with a record-breaking 82 million households around the world tuning in to the irresistible romance of the Duke of Hastings and Daphne Bridgerton in its first 28 days. It surpassed The Witcher's 72 million by a wide margin.
The Shondaland series has made the top 10 in every country where Netflix operates, except for Japan, hitting number one in 83 countries including the US, UK, Brazil, France, India and South Africa. And much like how searches for chess surged due to The Queen's Gambit's popularity and the uptick in sales for Maurice Leblanc's Arsène Lupin books, the books that Bridgerton is based on are in The New York Times bestseller lists for the first time—18 years after they were first published.
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Jinny Howe, vice president for original series in Netflix shared what she thinks made the period drama a huge hit: Daphne and Simon's "will they/won't they" love affair, the fabulous fashion and lavish setting provided an escape from every viewer, the choice to move away from the traditional portrayal of Regency life and the show's diversity which empowered people of colour and women.
"Shondaland's fans have come to expect diversity in all her shows. Bridgerton took a seed of truth about Queen Charlotte’s background to reimagine her as a Black monarch using her power to affect broader change in British society. The empowerment of people of colour and women made Bridgerton feel accessible and contemporary, resonating with audiences all around the world," said Howe.
Like The Queen’s Gambit and Emily in Paris—two other hugely popular Netflix series—Bridgerton draws upon themes that are universal yet speak directly to women because they feature independent-minded female protagonists in lead roles," she adds.
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