‘Wednesday’ Shatters Netflix Record, Making Season 2 A Sure Thing

While it seemed clear that Wednesday was performing well for Netflix, #1 in nearly all countries and invading everywhere from Twitter to Tik Tok with memes and fancams inspired by the show, now we have the data. And Wednesday just broke a pretty big record for Netflix, which should all but secure a season 2, if not a few more past that.

Netflix reports that Wednesday just broke its record for the most-viewed English-language show in a week with 341.23 million hours viewed. Somehow, that managed to pass up Stranger Things season 4, a well-documented monster, which had 335 million hours viewed, based on the back of years of fanbase-building and the fact that it was its best season yet.

Of course, there is one show that simply cannot be beaten, not by Stranger Things, not be Wednesday, not by anyone. Squid Game, which holds the all-time weekly record with 571.8 million hours viewed, and it has the all-time monthly record as well, which shows like Dahmer and Stranger Things failed to surpass.

Wednesday also shares a record with Stranger Things for its reach, being #1 in 83 countries simultaneously, hitting the all-important Netflix metric of international appeal. Netflix says 50 million households in total have watched Wednesday this past week.

All of this leads to an extremely obvious conclusion even if Netflix has not announced it officially yet: Wednesday is getting a season 2. There’s just no question about it now, given these numbers, as I mean hell, they’re even making Dahmer follow-up seasons just because that show put up such big numbers (with different serial killers), so more seasons of Wednesday are a no-brainer. The only real question is whether it will be renewed for one or two seasons at a time.

Without question, the person who has made out the best from all this is Jenna Ortega, who was already a burgeoning Gen Z star, but this has catapulted her to a new level of fame, and while Wednesday may have its flaws as a show, Ortega’s portrayal of Wednesday Addams is not one of them, and is the thing that unequivocally carries the show. If a season 2 hasn’t been announced yet, I hope it’s delayed because her agents are securing her a massive payday.

I would expect a season 2 (or more) announcement in the coming days here. And now over the next month, we’ll have to see how its lifetime viewing stacks up to rivals like Dahmer and Stranger Things, though catching Squid Game is likely impossible. Still, a huge performance from Wednesday here and another Netflix IP putting up big numbers in recent months, which has been a promising trend for them lately.

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