‘Stranger Things’ Dethroned In Netflix’s Top 10 List By A New Show, Again

We knew it would happen sooner or later, and it took about two weeks for Stranger Things to lose its #1 slot in Netflix’s top 10 list to a new show. We have gone through this twice now, given that Stranger Things season 4 was broken up into releases a month apart with part 1 and part 2, so what won out this time?

While Stranger Things Part 1 was on top of the top 10 list for about three weeks, it was eventually unseated by the return of The Umbrella Academy for season 3. That was no big surprise considering The Umbrella Academy has been a big hit for a while now, but this time? It’s something brand new.

Resident Evil is currently the #1 show on Netflix, which creates an odd situation considering most people seem to…hate it. I just finished writing an article about how while Resident Evil season 1 is not just not scoring well with critics, with a 55% on Rotten Tomatoes, it’s scoring even worse with audiences, and has a 22% audience score that is among the worst I’ve ever seen for any Netflix series.

And yet, clearly people are watching it. Resident Evil debuted as the number two show when it arrived a few days ago, and now it has climbed to #1 already, dethroning the most popular season of the most popular English-language show in Netflix history. Granted, part 2 of Stranger Things requires just four hours of viewing time before people can move on, so it’s not a huge shock that it lasted “only” two weeks at #1 instead of three like part 1 did.

Stranger Things season 4 is attempting to claw its way toward Squid Game’s overall 28 day viewing record for both of its part combined. It needs 1.6 billion views in 28 days, and while it’s already crossed the billion mark, it has two more weeks for part 2 to get there. It may end up a few hundred million short, unless fans decide to watch the last two episodes on repeat a bunch of times.

As for Resident Evil, all Netflix really cares about is viewership. So the show can score poorly with critics and even audiences, but so long as people are watching it for some reason, it may get a season 2. However, Netflix has cut far cheaper shows that have performed better, so it does not feel like a sure thing until we see some longer term performance. Resident Evil itself very much feels like it is going to get a season 2, as it feels comfortable ending on a whole bunch of cliffhangers that demand another season at least to be resolved.

We will see how long Resident Evil can remain on top here. The longer it does, the more likely we are to see a season 2, but I’d be surprised if we heard anything concrete any time soon. More to come, stay tuned.

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