Topics: Film and TV, Netflix, UNILAD RANKED, Entertainment
Are you a true TV fan if you haven't seen Netflix's top five most popular shows of all time?
Granted, if you haven't seen all these series, you've had a lot more of a life than the rest of us, but what else was going to get us through a global pandemic, multiple break-ups and a few years which felt like January on repeat for months in a row?
At least we can take comfort in knowing it certainly wasn't only a handful of us - one Netflix series watched a staggering 252,100,000 times.
This week's UNILAD Ranked brings you Netflix's 'most popular shows' across the globe of 'all time' in English which it shared on Tudum.
Advert
And making the top five is the iconic series which got most of us through the coronavirus pandemic - The Queen's Gambit.
The miniseries was based on the 1984 novel of the same name by Walter Tevis with a screenplay created by Allan Scott and Scott Frank. It centers around fictional orphan chess prodigy Elizabeth Harmon (Anya Taylor-Joy), who rises to the top of her game, but faces many other battles outside of the chess hall along the way.
Scott reportedly rewrote the story nine times and it took him around three decades to get the show produced because nobody thought people would be that interested in chess, IMDb notes.
However, the series led to a rocketing in sales of chess sets and received widespread praise not only for its cinematography and standard of performances, but also for its accurate depiction of the game.
"Rewatching the queens gambit. there’s not reason for this show to be so good," one Twitter user wrote.
According to Netflix's Tudum, it's been viewed a staggering 112,800,000 times across the globe - oh and it's obtained a solid Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score of 96 percent and Popcornmeter of 94 too.
The series was created by Chris Van Dusen for Netflix and based on the book series by Julia Quinn.
The first season of Bridgerton took Netflix by storm, focusing on the story of eldest Bridgerton daughter Daphne (Phoebe Dynevor) and her friendship with Duke of Hastings, Simon Basset (Regé-Jean Page) which turns into something much more.
With the iconic Julie Andrews narrating the story as Lady Whistledown and the opening credits scene tailored to the character focused on within the season, alongside iconic pop tunes turned into orchestral pieces for the dance scenes - it's not hard to see why the series is such a hit.
Season one has been viewed a whopping 113,300,000 times across the globe and it's not a surprise season two and three also made Netflix's top 10 most popular shows of all time, season three coming in at position six with 106,000,000 views and season two in position 10 with 93,800,000.
Created by Ryan Murphy and Ian Brennan, the first season of the biographical crime drama anthology television series honed in on the life of serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer - played by Evan Peters.
Despite only receiving a Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score of 57 percent, its Popcornmeter is a solid 82 percent and the season picked up a whopping 115,600,000 views across the globe.
The season received four nominations at the 80th Golden Globe Awards and six nominations at the 75th Primetime Emmy Awards.
The series went on to cover the story of Lyle and Erik Menendez for its second instalment.
Coming in as runner up is the fourth season of supernatural hit Stranger Things.
The season sees the introduction of a character who goes on to achieve legendary status in the series, Eddie Munson (Joseph Quinn) - and all - well, most of - the fan favorites return too.
Stranger Things 5 - the final season - has just wrapped and expected to be released next year.
Season four saw Kate Bush's 'Running Up That Hill' back in the charts in the first week of the season's release - don't even get me started on Saltburn's revival of Sophie Ellis Bextor.
A Twitter user wrote: "Stranger Things season 4 it just keeps getting better and it all makes sense."
The season's drawn in a whopping 140,700,000 views worldwide since it was released and there's no doubt it will continue to climb as fans of the show recap ahead of season five's pending release.
And in the top spot and subsequently the most popular Netflix show in English across the globe - with a jaw-dropping 252,100,000 views - is none other than season one of Wednesday.
The series is based on the character of Wednesday Addams by Charles Addams and Tim Burton acted as executive producer on the series, as well as directing several episodes.
The series stars Jenna Ortega (Scream VI) in the titular role alongside actors such as Gwendoline Christie (Game of Thrones) and Christina Ricci (who played Wednesday in 1991's The Addams Family).
Ortega not only learnt to play the cello, but also took fencing, archery, canoeing, German and boxing lessons in preparation for the role, IMDB reports.
Add in a 'Stanley Kubrick stare' and no blinking alongside that dance scene and well, Ortega's playing of the role is nothing short of iconic.
It scored a fresh 73 percent Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score alongside a Popcornmeter of 85 percent.
And season two is expected for release sometime this year, with showrunners and executive producers Al Gough and Miles Millar teasing Tudum: "This season, Wednesday’s journey is darker and more complex as she navigates family, friends, new mysteries, and old adversaries, propelling her headlong into another year at Nevermore."
As one social media user resolved: "I was literally gonna end my Netflix subscription if Wednesday got cancelled."
UNILAD RANKED is a weekly series with a new article released every Friday.
