The Samba TV Wrap report has spent all summer highlighting Netflix’s successes. This week, the streaming giant found a way to top itself.
“Wednesday,” one of Netflix’s all-time biggest hits, returned on Aug. 6. Following nearly three years between seasons, audiences were excited to see Jenna Ortega come back as the titular creepy, kooky, mysterious and spooky Addams family character. With 2.7 million U.S. households watching the first episode in the first five days it was available, it was more than enough to put the show at the top of the streaming chart this week.
It was the 10th consecutive week a Netflix title has held the top spot. It’s also one of seven Netflix entries this week, making it the second-straight week where the streamer has held seven of our Top 10 spots. With the second half of “Wednesday’s” second season coming on Sept. 3, all signs are pointing to Netflix summer extending past Labor Day.
Amid the Netflix grip on the chart, there’s a noticeable difference. Churn was the story for most of the summer, with new Netflix titles rising and falling week after week. Lately, though, Netflix hits have had staying power, and the remaining six titles on the chart are all holdovers from last week.
That list starts with “The Hunting Wives,” which stays at number two in its third week on the chart. “Happy Gilmore 2,” which was our chart topper the past two weeks, falls this week, down to fifth.
Breaking up the Netflix hegemony this week is “The Gilded Age” on HBO Max. The period drama wrapped its third season on Aug. 10, which helped it return to the chart in a big way, shooting all the way to third.
It’s followed by “The Pickup.” The Prime Video original starring Eddie Murphy drew 1.4 million U.S. households this week.
Next up is “KPop Demon Hunters,” which is redefining the term “staying power” for both Netflix and film-length streaming releases. More than six weeks after it first appeared on streaming, the movie is still on the chart (for its fifth consecutive week), and in sixth place this week.
In seventh is the Netflix sitcom “Leanne,” down a spot from last week. That’s followed by “The Summer I Turned Pretty” on Prime Video.
“My Oxford Year” is the next Netflix entry, down two spots. In tenth is “Untamed,” a Netflix miniseries that spent three weeks in the top three on our most-watched chart. While it falls this week, four straight weeks on the chart is nothing to slouch at.
Changing the dial to linear, “America’s Got Talent” is tops once again. Amid the normal glut of game shows and competitions, we do get a movie breaking through. ABC aired the 1998 remake of “The Parent Trap” on Sunday, Aug. 10. Perhaps aided by Lindsay Lohan fans stoked for the recent release of “Freakier Friday,” we find the film in ninth this week.
Meanwhile, the chart is stocked with old reliables like “Wheel of Fortune” (four spots with second, third, fifth, and sixth), “Celebrity Family Feud” in fourth, “American Ninja Warrior” in seventh, “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire” in eighth, and “America’s Funniest Home Videos” rounding out the list with tenth.
The Wrap Report provides an exclusive first look at the most-watched movies and TV series from the past week across both streaming and linear television, sourced from viewership trends collected from Samba TV’s panel of more than 3 million households, balanced to the U.S. Census.
