Shonda Rhimes' first Netflix original series is a smash hit.
Netflix is projecting "Bridgerton" to be watched by 63 million households in its first 28 days (it debuted on Christmas), the streaming giant said on Monday. Netflix counts a view if an account watches at least two minutes of a show or movie, so while the metric doesn't account for how many users watched the entire series, it does provide a good idea of how many were interested in it.
That 63 million would make "Bridgerton" Netflix's fifth biggest original series ever. (That's assuming we count "Stranger Things" season three, which was watched by 64 million households based on Netflix's former, stricter metric that required an account to watch at least 70% of a movie or TV episode. Netflix changed the metric in late 2019.)
"Bridgerton" marks a win for Netflix and Rhimes' mega deal. The "Grey's Anatomy" and "Scandal" creator struck the deal in 2018 worth $150 million, according to The New York Times.
Netflix made a similar deal with superstar producer Ryan Murphy, but his original Netflix output so far has been hit or (mostly) miss. "The Politician" and "Hollywood" received poor critics reviews and didn't spark the kind of enthusiasm with viewers that "Bridgerton" has, though Murphy's "Ratched" is Netflix's ninth biggest series.
But even "Ratched" still received lackluster reviews and has a 62% critic score on Rotten Tomatoes, while "Bridgerton" has a 92%.
Other recent Netflix hits include "The Witcher," "The Umbrella Academy," and "Tiger King."
Below are Netflix's top 10 biggest original series yet based on its two-minute metric, including "Bridgerton":