The Night Agent is a hit on Netflix with massive viewing numbers

Gabriel Basso in The Night Agent
Gabriel Basso in The Night Agent (Image credit: Dan Power/Netflix)

It certainly looks like Netflix has a new hit show on its hands, as The Night Agent was viewed for more than 168.7 million hours, per the streaming service's weekly Top 10 list. That number is the second highest viewing time for any show on Netflix to date in 2023.

The Night Agent is based on a novel of the same name from author Matthew Quirk, about a low-level FBI agent who works nights in the basement of the White House manning a phone line for undercover spies that never rings. But one day, it does, setting into motion a chain of events that reveals a conspiracy that reaches all the way to the Oval Office. The show was created by Shawn Ryan and stars Gabriel Basso, Fola Evans-Akingbola, Eve Harlow, D.B. Woodside, Enrique Murciano and Oscar-nominee Hong Chau. The 10 episode season is available to watch in its entirety right now on Netflix.

The series premiered on Thursday, March 23; its viewing numbers are only from four of the seven days covered in the most recent report.

The Night Agent ended You season 4's two week run as the most-watched Netflix title following the release of its second batch of episodes. But, as mentioned, its viewing numbers in its first few days are among the best the streaming service has seen in 2023, beating You season 4 part 1's first few days and Outer Banks season 3. Only Ginny & Georgia season 2 has done better in its first week, being viewed for 180 million hours.

One other thing that The Night Agent can hang its hat on is that it earned the largest premiere numbers of any new show in 2023 on Netflix. That '90s Show was watched for 41 million hours in its first week, Lockwood & Co 25.1 million, reality show Perfect Match 24.6 million, while true crime docuseries Murdaugh Murders had 40 million and MH370 had 59.8 million. The only other new show to surpass 100 million hours in its first week was the Giancarlo Esposito-led limited series Kaleidoscope.

The Night Agent was in the top 10 of most watched Netflix shows in 93 countries for March 20-26, including being the most-watched show in the US and UK.

As far as the rest of the Netflix TV top 10, two other shows in their first week made the top 5, Love Is Blind season 4 (25.5 million hours viewed) and Waco: American Apocalypse (21.5 million hours viewed) at No. 4 and No. 5, respectively. Check out the full top 10 right here.

Netflix Top 10 TV shows March 20-26, 2023

(Image credit: Netflix)

Visit the Netflix Top 10 webpage for complete results and to see the top viewed movies and non-English language titles.

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.