‘Archive 81’ Dethroned In Netflix’s Top 10 List By A New Show

Archive 81 has fought the good fight, surprising everyone to land itself as the #1 show on Netflix in the US’s top 10 list, but now it’s lost that crown to something wholly unsurprising.

Ozark’s back.

The first half of season 4 of Ozark has debuted as of yesterday, and naturally, it rocketed up to the top of the charts instantly, knocking Archive 81 down to #2, while the debut of a new season of Too Hot To Handle is #3.

It was pretty clear a show as big as Ozark would take the top spot when it arrived, and the show had already crept into the top 10 list this week as people were watching older seasons to catch up in time. We saw this before The Witcher season 2’s debut as well, and it’s a sign that a new season is about to do very well.

Still, Archive 81, with no promotion and no famous names in the cast, deserves a lot of credit for how well its done on Netflix, and demands a second season. Netflix has been reeling from a massive stock falloff in the wake of investors being displeased with the pace of the post-pandemic surge subscriber growth, and many fans have been quick to point out that over-cancelling too many shows certainly isn’t helping them.

Ozark, meanwhile, is one of Netflix’s “prestige” shows, which has landed it Emmys and nominations as the quality of the series has increased over time. This supersized fourth and final season is split in half, and so far, it’s reviewing well. It’s got a 92% on Rotten Tomatoes, just a few points below season 3’s 98%, which was a big jump over season 1 (70%) and season 2 (76%).

In the final stretch, the Byrde family is tasked with even more seemingly impossible demands from the cartel, all the while Wendy is attempting to grow their family’s power in the US with their newly acquired drug money. They also find themselves on the wrong side of their former partner, Ruth, still played expertly by Emmy winner Julia Garner.

Switching back to Archive 81, the horror series based on a still-running podcast does seem destined for a second season with this kind of performance, and I am still expecting to hear that announcement shortly. It’s done very well, and spread virally through word of mouth in a way we rare see on the service, and I hope it’s rewarded for that. Ozark, meanwhile, already has a planned ending, so no need to worry about a potential season 5 after this.

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Pick up my sci-fi novels the Herokiller series and The Earthborn Trilogy.