Netflix Reveals Unexpected Hits in First Engagement Report

Netflix’s latest engagement report has unveiled surprising viewer preferences, showcasing a diverse array of popular content on the platform. The report, a first of its kind from Netflix, offers an unprecedented glimpse into what subscribers are watching, including global hits, teen dramas, and female-led narratives.

According to Netflix, the top ten most-watched shows and movies from January to June 2023 include the FBI thriller “The Night Agent,” the first two seasons of “Ginny & Georgia,” the Korean drama “The Glory,” Jenna Ortega’s “Wednesday,” the “Bridgerton” spinoff “Queen Charlotte,” the fourth season of Penn Badgley’s “You,” the third season of the Spanish telenovela “La Reina del Sur,” the third season of “Outer Banks,” and Arnold Schwarzenegger’s “FUBAR.”

The streaming giant’s top 100 list, drawn from over 18,000 titles, features other notable shows like “Manifest,” “Firefly Lane,” Jennifer Lopez’s “The Mother,” Eddie Murphy’s “You People,” “Sex/Life,” reality series like “Perfect Match” and “Love Is Blind,” and acclaimed titles “The Diplomat” and “Beef.”

Netflix has traditionally kept viewership data close to the vest, typically sharing limited insights through “Top 10” or “Most Popular” lists. This new report marks a shift, offering detailed data including the least-watched titles.

Non-English language content, such as “The Snow Girl” (Spain), “The Empress” (Germany), and “Fauda” (Israel), comprised 30% of the most-watched programming. Original series and films accounted for 55% of viewing, while licensed content like “Grey’s Anatomy” and “Suits” made up 45%.

Interestingly, “Suits” experienced a resurgence on Netflix, ranking 67th most-viewed through June, despite its prior run on USA Network and availability on Peacock and Amazon. Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos, in a press call including CNN, highlighted this phenomenon. “What’s interesting is a show like ‘Suits,’ which has been played on USA for a long time, has been available on Peacock and has been available on Amazon for a couple of years before it hit Netflix,” Sarandos said. “And yet, we were able to unlock this enormous global audience for it, and that’s the combination of our large subscriber base and our recommendation system that knew to put ‘Suits’ in front of people who were going to love it the most.”

Netflix plans to release data for the latter half of 2023 in the upcoming year.