The Ratings Are In, And ‘That ’90s Show’ Is A Hit For Netflix

Even crusty Red Forman might crack a smile at this news—NetflixNFLX
seems to have a new hit with That ’90s Show, a reboot of the popular FoxFOXA
series That ’70s Show that debuted on the streaming network last week.

According to exclusive numbers provided by Samba TV, which measures TV engagement, 1.7 million households watched the first episode of the new series on Netflix during the live-plus-three-day-viewing window since its premiere on January 19. That compares favorably to the 1 million who watched recent Netflix hit Harry & Meghan on its first day of release.

It was particularly popular among millennial households, where it overindexed by 8% among adults 25-34 and 4% among adults 35-44.

The show picks up decades after the original, which followed the exploits of a group of teens who spent their time smoking up in protagonist Eric Forman’s basement and going through the typical coming-of-age exploits in a small Wisconsin town.’70s Show aired from 1998-2006 and launched the careers of a number of still-prominent actors and actresses, including Ashton Kutcher, Mila Kunis and Laura Prepon.

Part of the original’s appeal was built on nostalgia, and that certainly drove people to the reboot, notes Cole Strain, vice president of measurement products at Samba TV.

“Nearly two decades after the final episode of That ’70s Show aired, it’s clear we are ready to return the Formans’ basement as Netflix taps into another piece of reboot magic with That ’90s Show,” he says. “Not surprisingly, millennials who grew up in the era of the original show were more likely to watch than the average U.S. household.”

He notes that ’90s Show performed better compared to a number of other reboots of shows from similar eras.

“The premiere outpaced nearly every other recent reprise airing on other streamers, drawing in more than three times the audience of Peacock’s Bel-Air, four times the audience of HBO Max’s Gossip Girl and six times the audience of Hulu’s How I Met Your Father.”

Those shows were among the highest-profile streaming reboots in recent years, though they are on smaller platforms than Netflix, which has more than 230 million subscribers worldwide, so it’s not an apples-to-apples comparison. Girl’s first episode averaged 49,000 households in the comparable live-plus-three-day window, while Father’s debut episode averaged 279,000 households, according to Samba figures.

Bel-Air drew a more robust 437,000 households for its first episode across a comparable time period, despite Peacock having only 18 million paid subscribers (it does have a free platform, however).

The initial success of ’90s Show could, of course, just be curiosity seekers who are one-and-done with the series. But the program wisely spread out its original series stars’ cameos across several episodes, which should drive tune-in.

Plus, people will be curious to see how the absence of Hyde (original cast member Danny Masterson) will be explained. Masterson has been charged with three counts of forcible rape and was not asked to return for the reboot.