From ‘Stranger Things’ To ‘Wednesday’ To ‘Dahmer,’ Netflix Is Having A Monster 2022

While I know it’s pretty common these days to critique the streaming space and the cutbacks and revenue shortfalls its produced across much of the industry, and to point fingers especially at the service that started it all…Netflix is actually having…kind of a killer 2022.

Many of Netflix’s rivals have struggled lately, from HBO’s Discovery merge drama to Amazon trying to justify its billion dollar Lord of the Rings project. But Netflix itself is having one of its best years on record in terms of its original IPs. Among the highlights of 2022 so far:

Stranger Things season 4 broke series and overall records for Netflix when it debuted, a critically and audience-acclaimed season that make a huge mark on the pop culture landscape (keep running up that hill) and became Netflix’s second season of a show to cross a billion hours viewed other than Squid Game.

Dahmer may have attracted negative attention for its subject matter, but it also was a massively watched series, becoming the third show to cross a billion hours viewed after Stranger Things hit that mark months earlier. Dahmer’s success has greenlit other serial killers to come in an expanded “Monster” series as a result.

Wednesday is Netflix’s current megahit, breaking records for most hours watched in its first week for an English language series, and it may be on the way to be the third Netflix show this year alone to cross a billion viewership hours.

But it’s not just huge viewership, Netflix seems to be creating dedicated communities for certain, smaller shows, and making let’s say, less bad decisions than they have in the past.

The Sandman seemed like it would be a show that may fall victim to Netflix budget cuts, given its high cost, but Netflix recognized that it was a solid adaptation that deserved more time, and it eventually renewed it for season 2 after a long wait.

Heartstopper is one of Netflix’s best-reviewed shows ever, but it wasn’t exactly tearing up the viewing charts after release. Still, Netflix recognized its promise and greenlit it for two more seasons.

Warrior Nun is another show that may not have explosive viewership hours, but its second season is currently reviewing at 100% from critics and a shocking 99% from audience, which is the highest I’ve seen across any Netflix IP. Fans are still hoping for a season 3 renewal as we speak.

Cyberpunk Edgerunners was a brilliant new anime project from Netflix and TRIGGER that was so good it actually dramatically boosted sales of the game. As other places cut their animation production, Netflix is still firing on all cylinders here.

Of course there have been misses. Netflix’s Resident Evil series was terrible. The Midnight Club was a miss. Netflix cancelled Archive 81 for some reason. Plenty of underwhelming series made it to #1 on their most-watched list. But overall, it’s been a sold year for them, to be sure.

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