‘Reacher’ Is Amazon’s Biggest Hit, Putting Up Netflix-Sized Viewership Numbers

While Nielsen isn’t exactly the speediest of metrics in the streaming era these days, its measurements have some good news for fans of Reacher, the recent Amazon Prime hit that is more than just a hit, it appears to be the service’s biggest show since this sort of thing started being tracked by third parties.

Nielsen says that in its first three days, Reacher racked up 1.84 billion minutes of viewing time for its eight episodes, more than the previous high, The Wheel of Time, at 1.16 billion minutes in November 2021.

That actually puts it up there with big Netflix series, significant, since Netflix has so many more subscribers. That list for that time period (Jan 31 – Feb 6) looks like:

1. Ozark (Netflix), 2.37 billion minutes viewed
2. Reacher (Prime Video), 1.84 billion
3. Sweet Magnolias (Netflix), 1.32 billion
4. Raising Dion (Netflix), 1.13 billion
5. The Woman in the House … (Netflix), 1.12 billion
6. All of Us Are Dead (Netflix), 850 million
7. The Book of Boba Fett (Disney+), 776 million
8. In From the Cold (Netflix), 658 million
9. Murderville (Netflix), 351 million
10. Pam & Tommy (Hulu), 312 million

So, one thing that does occur to me looking at this list is that Amazon decided to debut Reacher all at once in binge-format, which it does not usually do, and that was not the case with The Wheel of Time, which was weekly, which may explain some of the viewership disparity there. I have zero doubt that their Lord of the Rings series, which they want to do even bigger numbers than this, will be weekly as they attempt to craft their own must-see, highly buzzed-about Game of Thrones competitor. But binging may also be another reason so many Netflix shows are always topping lists like these, in addition to the larger subscriber base.

Reacher fans should take comfort in knowing that this is a series that is likely going to continue for a very, very long time on Prime, given that it’s no doubt cheaper to make than series like Wheel of Time or LOTR, has practically infinite source material in a host of Lee Child books, and is doing the kind of numbers that automatically greenlights continued investment. The only real question is if Reacher will continue to go in book order, or skip around. But yes, this show is here to stay, and one of the best things Amazon has produced in all its years in the streaming video game.

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