Bridgerton shatters Netflix records with 70 million viewers

"Bridgerton" made an impressive debut. Initially, we reported about 45 million viewers right after its release on Netflix. But that’s not all. Now the numbers are even more astounding.

It seems like everyone is watching "Bridgerton." While we usually avoid saying "everyone," it seems appropriate here, considering the viewership numbers. Since May 16, there has been a lot of buzz online about the third season of the Netflix series, which was split into two parts. Only four episodes were released initially, causing quite a stir because those who have watched know that the last released episode ends at a particularly intense moment. For weeks, there has been talk of intimate scenes in this installment of "Bridgerton." The interest is immense, as shown by the impressive numbers.

As we wrote just a week earlier, Netflix's servers faced quite a challenge but held up. No Netflix hit has enjoyed such popularity over the past twelve months. "Bridgerton" amassed 45.1 million viewers within the first four days.

This translated to 165 million hours spent watching the latest production. In March 2023, "The Night Agent" achieved slightly better results (168.7 million hours). At the same time, the interest in Penelope and Colin's story generated demand for the previous "Bridgerton" seasons. The second season was rewatched for 193 million hours.

Now, new numbers have come in. "Bridgerton" continues to lead. Although the initial craze has subsided, the series still generates massive interest. The exact viewership numbers for the week of May 20-26 are now known. The first part was watched by 25.3 million viewers. There is a drop of over 40%, but the series remains the most-watched production on the platform.

As a result, "Bridgerton" now has 70 million viewers, and the numbers keep rising. Will the third season break the platform's previous records? Let’s remember that the second season had a total of 93.8 million viewers, while the first season of "The Witcher" had 83 million.

The analysis by "Variety" is interesting. The journalists converted the new "Bridgerton" numbers into minutes spent in front of screens. The series was watched for 2.3 billion minutes in the first full week of display. The first season ranked second, watched for 498 million minutes, and the second season of "Bridgerton" was watched for 434 million minutes. "Variety" notes that the dominance will continue for several more weeks.

The second part of Penelope and Colin's adventures is yet to come. The next episodes are set to appear on Netflix starting June 13. As Nicola Coughlan, who plays Miss Featherington, points out, viewers will see intimate scenes in the second part, which she was very keen on.

"There's one scene where I am completely naked in front of the camera, and it was my idea, my choice. I was fed up with all those discussions about my body. In that moment before the camera, I felt beautiful and thought, 'When I'm 80 years old, I want to look back and remember how damn sexy I looked!'" - said Nicola Coughlan in one of the interviews.