Bridgerton season 2 breaks Netflix viewership records in its first week

Bridgerton
(Image credit: Liam Daniel/Netflix)

I think it’s fair to say that Bridgerton fans were excited when season 2 debuted on Netflix Friday, March 25. So much so that they made Bridgerton season 2 the most-watched English-language TV title in Netflix history for a premiere weekend, with more than 193 million hours of the show viewed from March 25-March 27, per Netflix’s own Top 10 resource.

Bridgerton, which is based on a popular book series set in Regency-era of England, became a sensation when it debuted on Netflix in 2020. The series follows the wealthy Bridgerton family as they deal with things like love, lust and betrayal. This new season focuses on Anthony Bridgerton (Jonathan Bailey) as he sets out to find a suitable wife, soon becoming determined to win the heart of Kate Sharma (Simone Ashley).

Even without season 1 breakout Regé-Jean Page returning for this new season, fans clearly devoured a return to the Bridgerton estate and many of the characters they fell in love with the first time around.

Bridgerton season 2 was, unsurprisingly, far and away the No. 1 most-watched TV show of the week on Netflix. The next closest show was Is It Cake? season 1, which registered 48.9 million hours viewed. Showing that a rising tide lifts all boats, Bridgerton season 1 rounded out the top three top shows, with 32.2 million hours viewed. Here are the remaining top 10 English-language TV shows on Netflix for the week of March 21-27:

Netflix Top 10 list March 21-27, 2022

(Image credit: Netflix)

With this new record in the books, Bridgerton will now look to surpass its first season’s viewership numbers for the first 28 days. Bridgerton season 1 was viewed for 625.5 million hours 28 days after its December 25, 2020, release. With nearly 200 million views in three days Bridgerton season 2 looks to be in a good position to challenge that number.

Netflix’s Top 10 list also covers the movies people are watching on the streaming service. This most recent week’s top-streamed movie remained Ryan Reynold’s The Adam Project, with 31.7 million hours viewed. This is the third straight week for The Adam Project at the top of Netflix’s movie chart, having been viewed for a total of 209.49 million hours. The top five movies of March 21-27 were rounded out by Rescued by Ruby, Gemini Man, Windfall and John Wick: Chapter 2. Here’s the full top 10 for movies last week:

Netflix Top 10 list March 21-27, 2022

(Image credit: Netflix)

Netflix’s Top 10 lists also cover the most viewed TV shows and movies not in the English language. Here are those lists from March 21-27:

Netflix Top 10 list March 21-27, 2022

(Image credit: Netflix)

Netflix Top 10 list March 21-27, 2022

(Image credit: Netflix)
Michael Balderston

Michael Balderston is a DC-based entertainment and assistant managing editor for What to Watch, who has previously written about the TV and movies with TV Technology, Awards Circuit and regional publications. Spending most of his time watching new movies at the theater or classics on TCM, some of Michael's favorite movies include Casablanca, Moulin Rouge!, Silence of the Lambs, Children of Men, One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest and Star Wars. On the TV side he enjoys Only Murders in the Building, Yellowstone, The Boys, Game of Thrones and is always up for a Seinfeld rerun. Follow on Letterboxd.