Credit: NetflixNetflix is always on the lookout to see what their guests are enjoying when it comes to the content that their streaming platform offers. Not only does this allow them to curate future content that would be best received by their audience, but it also shows the longevity of popularity that a show can have, determining if it is worth putting in a second season.
In 2022, Wednesday claimed the top spot. As noted by Variety, “Wednesday‘ Snaps ‘Stranger Things 4’ Record for Most Hours …
According to Netflix’s data, “Wednesday” is the new record holder for the most hours viewed in a week for an English-language TV series on Netflix. “Stranger Things” Season 4 previously held the record with 335.01 million hours viewed, which was counted during the week of May 30 – June 5.”
However, according to Screen Rant, “Stranger Things season 4 undoubtedly benefited from its huge 13-hour runtime, meaning it would have been nearly impossible for another series to surpass its hours viewed (1.838 billion), especially one like Wednesday, which is currently less than half its runtime and notched just over 1.718 billion hours viewed.”
With that being said, Netflix has launched its report for the most watched shows of 2023 when it comes to watch hours, and both Stranger Things and Wednesday were dethroned from January to June of this year. Below, you can take a look at the official rankings when it comes to hours viewed on Netflix for the first half of the year.
- The Night Agent
- Ginny and Georgie
- The Glory
- Wednesday
- Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story
- You
- La Reina Del Sur
- Outer Banks
- Ginny and Georgia (season 1)
- FUBAR
According to these rankings, Stranger Things season 4 was not even a contender on the top 10 list. Stranger Things season 4 did however release in May of 2022, and Wednesday released in November of 2022, making the Tim Burton production an easier spill-over when it came to watch time and popularity for 2023.
But, it has now been proven that Wednesday’s popularity and ability to hold a top spot is fleeting.
The Night Agent is an action-packed American thriller television series created by Shawn Ryan, adapted from Matthew Quirk’s novel of the same title, and it dethroned Wednesday in 2023.
Featuring Gabriel Basso in the lead role, the show made its debut on Netflix on March 23, 2023. Within its initial four days, it quickly secured the position as the third-highest-viewed debut series on Netflix. Impressively, it received a second-season renewal within a week and, within a month, attained the status of the streaming platform’s sixth-most-watched series.
The storyline revolves around FBI Agent Peter Sutherland, who finds himself entangled in a far-reaching conspiracy involving a mole embedded in the upper echelons of the United States government. Faced with the monumental task of saving the nation, Peter embarks on a relentless pursuit to uncover the traitor. Simultaneously, he must safeguard former tech CEO Rose Larkin from the same individuals responsible for the murder of her aunt and uncle.
The show had a total watch time of 812,100,000 in 2023. Wednesday held a watch time of 507,700,000. While The Night Agent may have had greater success than Wednesday in 2023, overall, the Jenna Ortega-led show has a higher watch time if we take into account the entire duration of the show.
Future of Wednesday
Wednesday is one of Netflix’s top priorities now that the SAG-AFTRA strike has concluded, according to CEO Ted Sarandos. The show will begin filming its second season in April of 2024 in Ireland, however, a release date has not yet been given.
In season one, we were introduced to Netflix’s Wednesday series, where we followed the journey of Wednesday Addams, portrayed by Jenna Ortega (who recently departed from the Scream franchise), as she enrols in Nevermore Academy.
Her attendance at this school becomes necessary after she takes extreme measures to protect her younger brother, Pugsley, from bullies at her previous high school. However, life at Nevermore takes a dark turn as an ominous evil looms over the town of Jericho. Wednesday, armed with her newfound visions, must step up to save not only Jericho but also Nevermore Academy and its students, which is exactly what she does.
Created by Alfred Gough and Miles Millar, the series also features supported by a cast including Gwendoline Christie, Riki Lindhome, Jamie McShane, Hunter Doohan, Percy Hynes White, Emma Myers, Joy Sunday, Georgie Farmer, Naomi J. Ogawa, Christina Ricci, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Luis Guzman, and Moosa Mostafa.
In season two, we are not yet privy to where the storyline will take us, but a few things have been reported and confirmed.
Firstly, as we shared, it was reported that Percy Hynes White was being written out of the show after allegations of the actor over-serving a woman at a Toronto party were made. The woman has since pulled her accusations, however, there is no talk of White returning to the show. This means the story of Xavier Thope has likely ended.
We have been told that the story will take a darker turn this season, and another original member of The Addams Family will be introduced to round out Wednesday Addams, Pugsley Addams, Things, Morticia Addams, Gomez Addams, Uncle Fester, and Lurch.
Considering how popular season one was on Netflix, it is likely that once season two drops, the show will reclaim its throne once again.
Stranger Things 5 is also now filming, which will be an interesting battle between the shows once again. If the shows release in the order their previous seasons did, and based on the current filming schedules, it is likely we will see the series finale of Stranger Things drop first, with Wednesday trailing behind a few months later, as we saw in 2022.
With Wednesday being a clear replacement for the soon-to-end Stranger Things, following a similar dark tone, we can certainly see that Netflix is taking into account the style of show that their viewers enjoy consuming and is finding ways to create more of them.
Are you looking forward to season two on Wednesday? Are you a fan of The Night Agent?