American Prime Minister
This article was published on 1/14 and reprinted on 1/15.
As you may have figured out by now, I’m always tracking which shows are at the top of the ratings on Netflix, and now I think we’re looking at a whole new era of this show. The era of WWE Monday Night RAW.
After sitting at the top of Netflix’s top 10 list for a while, American Primeval, the limited series starring Taylor Kitsch, is now at No. 2 thanks to the arrival of Monday Night RAW on Monday night. What I believe can happen now is this ANY On Monday, RAW could end up being the most-watched thing on Netflix before it quickly leaves. Granted, this is only the second week of this Netflix deal, but RAW is a program that will run forever and will likely put up good numbers every time it airs. She falls down the roster after people are done watching her live, but I wonder if we’re going to start each week with RAW dominating the roster.
As for American Primeval, the show had mixed reviews with a barely fresh 61% score from critics on Rotten Tomatoes, but audiences are much more into it with a glowing 87% score in the end. As this is a limited series, it will end now. Maybe. Maybe. Netflix has known how to take successful limited series and turn them into longer productions, but I’m not sure American Primeval has that well to warrant going that extra step. It’s not impossible, I just don’t think it’s that likely in this case. It’s not based on a book, so maybe they could invent more stories along those lines, but we’ll see.
Top 10
The rest of the list has Squid Game at #4 for Season 2. It was setting record viewership numbers last we checked, but the question remains if it can keep up that pace to pass Squid Game Season 1 as the most watched series in Netflix history. It’s a tall order and he doesn’t have to go down to achieve this. We’re three weeks into the release and it’s still #4, though, so that’s a good indicator that it’s still doing well.
AMC has finally added The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live to Netflix, the Rick and Michonne series intended to be the end of their story. Maybe. Maybe. So far this is really a limited series, while others like Daryl Dixon and Dead City continue. My wife is excited about the addition of Younger to Netflix, which she is now watching for the eighth time. Not exaggerating.
I was into wrestling when I was younger, but I just don’t have time to watch three hours of RAW a week at this point, but I’m glad people are enjoying it in its new home.
Update (1/15): As expected, WWE RAW only stayed on top for a single day, and American Primeval is back at the top of the list with RAW down in third place now, and it will continue to drop quickly and most people want to watch it live. . Racing to number 2 is AMC’s The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live, which I believe ranks higher than any other Walking Dead series to make that list. I think Rick Grimes appearing front and center may have brought back some lapsed fans who gave up on the series after he died (“died”).
Unlike my colleague Erik Kain, I didn’t have that much of a show problem. I thought it was better than the Daryl Dixon spin-off, though not as good as Dead City with Negan and Maggie. But it sure was better than anything in Fear the Walking Dead season 2 last year. So, of course, I think I recommend it for fans. The ending is kind of weird, though, and it’s unclear what Rick’s fate is from here in the still-ongoing Walking Dead spin-off universe.
The rest of the list still has Season 2 of Squid Game sitting at #4, and we’ve got some new data from Netflix on its latest numbers. Here’s what they just said:
“For the third week in a row, Squid Game is dominating the top 10 charts and is the most watched title of the week with 26.3 million views, reaching the Top 10 in all countries. The season has amassed 152.5 million views since its premiere on December 26, making it our third most-watched season ever on Netflix alongside Season 1 and Squid Games Wednesday.”
Can it reach the top at this rate, we’ll have to see. But there is still a long way to go to reach that point.
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