Netflix has revealed that Bridgerton is officially their most popular show ever.
According to a press release, a record 82 million households all around the world caught Bridgerton in its first 28 days on the platform. Since Netflix finished 2020 with over 200 million active subscribers, that’s roughly 41% of all accounts.
This is particularly impressive because Netflix originally suggested 63 million subscribers had watched Bridgerton in the same 28-day period. So, just an extra 19 million viewers than expected, no big deal.
Officially, this means 82 million accounts have watched at least two minutes of the Shondaland and Netflix co-production. That might skew the numbers by including people who gave up on the show at some point, but it's still an impressive record.
According to their metrics, Bridgerton made the Netflix top ten in every country (except Japan) including the US, UK, Brazil, France, India and South Africa.
Furthermore, the series’ success pushed Julia Quinn’s Bridgerton novels into the New York Times bestseller list for the first time, 18 years after they were initially published.
Jinny Howe, Netflix’s VP of Original Series, penned the announcement on the Netflix press website. She said that announcing Bridgerton as the most successful Netflix series was “a dream come true.”
She believes that there are three main lessons she's learned from developing the drama, and these are the main reasons behind its success. The first reason is that Bridgerton proves that “romance can be smart, dynamic, bold and yes - universally appealing”.
The second reason? The show was a risk and played with expectations. Howe describes Bridgerton as “more lavish, sexier and funnier than the standard period drama”.
Finally, Howe believes Bridgerton’s appeal came from the show’s diversity, as expected from a Shondaland production. She said: “The empowerment of people of color and women made Bridgerton feel accessible and contemporary, resonating with audiences all around the world.”
Howe later added: “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.”
If you’re in the 59% of people who’ve yet to see Bridgerton, you can check out our guide to the series. Netflix also just announced that they’ve renewed the series for a second season, focussing on a different member of the Bridgerton family.
