Netflix tweaked its viewership methodology, giving an edge to shows with split seasons like 'Stranger Things' and 'Ozark'
- Netflix updated its viewership methodology to better account for TV seasons with multiple premieres.
- If a season is split into parts, Netflix now combines the hours viewed in each part's first 28 days.
Netflix recently tweaked its viewership methodology for its ranking of its biggest TV shows ever.
If a TV season is split into multiple parts, the company now combines the hours viewed for each part in the first 28 days of their availability.
"Since some titles have multiple premiere dates, whether weekly or in parts, we count the 28 days from each episode premiere date," Netflix says on its list website.
That's why "Lucifer" season five showed up on Netflix's list of top 10 most-watched English-language shows ever on Tuesday with 569 million hours viewed, even though the first part of the season debuted in 2020, and then the second part premiered in 2021.
After adding each part's first-month viewership, the season surged to No. 4 on the list.
"Ozark" season four, which was also split into two parts (the second part of which launched last month), landed on Netflix's overall top 10 English-language series list, as well, at No. 9 with a total of 480 million hours viewed.
The methodology change comes ahead of the debut of "Stranger Things" season four, which will be released in two parts. The first seven episodes land on Friday, and the final extra-long two episodes of the season debut on July 1.
Netflix has touted that season four will be "five hours longer" than any previous season.