I wondered when this was finally going to happen, and two weeks after release, Monster: The Ed Gein Story has been knocked off #1 in Netflix’s Top 10 list.
The victor is not some other horror show ahead of Halloween; it’s Netflix’s reality megahit, Love is Blind. It’s not even the premiere; it’s just the latest batch of episodes ahead of the finale of season 9. There are 11 episodes out so far, and the finale will be released on Wednesday, October 22, with the reunion show the following Wednesday on October 29. Nine seasons, still this much interest. Love is Blind is truly the new Bachelor/Bachelorette. This season in particular has had a few viral moments making their rounds on social media, and I would say that the show is starting to dip more into the idea of casting some less-than-traditionally-attractive contestants to make those “first look reveals” a bit more dramatic.
Love is Blind is already renewed for season 10. Monster is already renewed for a new story, next time focusing on the century-old axe murderer Lizzie Borden, which will be a significant departure for the series. We do not have the full scope of the viewing figures for Ed Gein in yet, but it seems like it will land as less than the all-timer, Dahmer, but likely more than the Menendez Brothers season. This is with the worst critic score out of all of them, a 39%. Audience scores are a bit higher than the Menendez Brothers with a 64%. I thought it was actually okay, and a bit better than critics are saying. The 64% seems about right to me.
A pretty big story on the list here is Boots, a low-budget, low-key Netflix series about a gay teen heading to the Marines, which has attracted great scores and high viewership, given that it’s currently #3 on the service. It may pass up Ed Gein soon enough if this trend continues.
New to the list is No One Saw Us Leave, a Mexican drama about a Jewish family whose father takes his children abroad, separating them from their mother, which is based on a true story. No critic or audience scores on that one yet, but a debut at #4 is really good, and a bit surprising.
Former #1 Wayward is heading down the list, now at #6. There was some talk about a possible season 2, breaking out of the miniseries format, but I haven’t heard anything about that since those early rumblings. Probably one-and-done for that one.
New animated series Splinter Cell: Deathwatch is bringing up the rear of the list at #9, another solid Netflix video game adaptation, albeit not one of the all-time greats.
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Pick up my sci-fi novels the Herokiller series and The Earthborn Trilogy.