Here’s How Stellar The First Three Weeks Have Been For ‘The Sandman’ On Netflix

Today, NetflixNFLX
released its latest viewing hour stats—and once again, The Sandman is sitting pretty. As we take a closer look at the numbers, it’s revealed that The Sandman is having one of the best starts in recent memory and is quickly becoming one of Netflix’s most elite shows.

Last week, it was revealed that the cult comic book adaptation had scored 198 million viewing hours in its first ten days, which ranked third amongst all english-language programs in their debut seasons. This proved that The Sandman’s perfect opening week was no fluke, and that the show had accrued quite the audience.

On top of that, this past weekend The Sandman completed the rare feat of losing its #1 spot only to gain it back just one week later. That’s a milestone only Netflix’s most elite shows have accomplished, including programs like Stranger Things, Virgin River, The Queen’s Gambit, and Tiger King.

And today’s released statistics have only further verified The Sandman’s worth on Netflix. This week the show’s total viewing hours stands at 77.24 million—good enough to rank in first place for the third straight week. That brings the show’s total to 274.22 million hours, which stands as the eighth-highest total since Netflix started releasing these numbers in June 2021.

Here are the ten highest totals we’ve seen for english-language programs in the first three weeks of their Netflix runs:

1. Stranger Things: Season 4 – 781.04 million hours
2. Bridgerton: Season 2 – 560.51 million hours
3. The Witcher: Season 2 – 405.16 million hours
4. Inventing Anna: Season 1 – 403.9 million hours
5. You: Season 3 – 394.91 million hours
6. Sex Education: Season 3 – 359.06 million hours
7. Maid: Season 1 – 356.88 million hours
8. The Sandman: Season 1 – 274.22 million hours
9. Cobra Kai: Season 4 – 269.11 million hours
10. Outer Banks: Season 2 – 257.09 million hours

Of course we knew The Sandman was popular—but these numbers really put everything into perspective. While the show may not be on the level of Stranger Things, Bridgerton, and The Witcher, the program is beating out well-established series like Cobra Kai and Outer Banks in just its first season. And that list doesn’t even include other shows The Sandman beat out, such as The Umbrella Academy’s third season, Emily in Paris’s second season, and Ozark’s fourth season.

Actually, if we just focus on the third week, The Sandman is in line with several of the shows ahead of it on the above list. The Sandman’s 77.22 million hours was better than the third-week total from Sex Education (72.87 million hours), and nearly beat out You (82.79 million hours) and The Witcher (94.27 million hours).

If we cut the list down to shows in their first season, then The Sandman is having the third-best opening of any show since June 2021. That includes The Lincoln Lawyer, Sex/Life, Vikings: Valhalla, Clickbait, Pieces of Her—the list goes on. To have that large of an audience in the first season? It would be pretty crazy for the show to not get the go-ahead for Season 2.

There are a few stipulations to be recognized here. First of all, not every show has been eligible for the Top 10 charts, which began back in February 2020. And Netflix didn’t start releasing viewing hours until one year ago. So several shows’ data isn’t publicly released.

In addition to all that, Netflix has released the ten highest viewing hour totals for the first 28 days of any Netflix program, regardless of release date. And The Sandman clearly does not have the chops to make that list—which includes the second season of 13 Reasons Why, the first season of The Witcher, and both seasons of Bridgerton.

Still, for The Sandman to make the kind of impact its had in the first 17 days of its Netflix stint—that’s pretty stellar. After reviewing all the numbers, it becomes clear that The Sandman has quickly become a premiere program that Netflix can rely on (if the show is renewed) for years to come.