Scores Second-Highest Weekly Streaming Debut Ever For Netflix—Launches Viral Dance

Topline

The Netflix series Wednesday streamed for nearly 6 billion minutes the week it debuted on Netflix in November Nielsen said in a report Wednesday, making it the second-most streamed series in a single week after Stranger Things’ fourth season as it also spans a viral fandom online.

Key Facts

The latest reboot of the classic Addams Family series follows oldest daughter Wednesday played by Jenna Ortega at boarding school.

Wednesday’s almost 6 billion view debut was especially driven by multicultural viewers, Nielsen said, with one-fourth of the the audience tuning in from Hispanic households (the series mentions Wednesday’s Latin roots—she receives an ancient Aztec artifact as a gift from her mother Morticia, and one scene shows Wednesday telling her friends that the Addams keep a Día De Los Muertos altar up all year long).

Some 60% of Wednesday viewers were female, and more than half were between the ages of 18 and 49, Nielsen said.

Wednesday has been Netflix’s top-streamed English-language series for the past four weeks since its debut and had racked up nearly 147 million hours in view time as of Sunday, according to the platform.

Tangent

Netflix’s strategy of releasing high-profile new series ahead of American holidays to encourage binging has paid off. Netflix dropped Wednesday on November 23, just before Thanksgiving, which Nielsen noted Wednesday likely contributed to the 6 billion first-week streams. The only series to ever receive more views in a single week, Stranger Things, clocked more than 7 billion streams in the first week after Netflix released the fourth season on Memorial Day weekend, Nielsen said.

Surprising Fact

Wednesday’s popularity has also driven increased streams for Lady Gaga’s 2001 song “Bloody Mary.” While the decade-old song isn’t included in Wednesday, a fan edit of Ortega’s dancing in the series set to a sped-up version of “Bloody Mary” went viral and sparked a TikTok craze of recreating Ortega’s bizarre dance moves. The song has since surpassed 100 million Spotify streams, and more than 20,000 videos have been posted to TikTok using the sound, including one from Lady Gaga herself.

Key Background

Despite smash hits this year with Stranger Things, Wednesday and Dahmer, Netflix shares dipped early Tuesday after the Wall Street Journal reported the streamer’s new ad-supported tier had returned disappointing results. The new plan only made up 9% of Netflix sign ups in the month of November. Netflix has laid off hundreds of employees this year amid subscriber losses.

Further Reading

Netflix’s ‘Wednesday’ Dance Goes Viral With The Wrong Song (Forbes)

‘Harry & Meghan’ Was Netflix’s Largest Documentary Premiere Ever (Forbes)

Viewers Watched More Than 5 Billion Minutes Of ‘Stranger Things 4’ In A Week, Breaking Record (Forbes)