"Bridgerton" season three gained 45 million views over the first week. It could pull the series above Netflix's other juggernaut 'Stranger Things."
Liam Daniel / Netflix / courtesy of Netflix
"Bridgerton" may overtake "Stranger Things" as Netflix's biggest TV series after season three gained 45 million views in one week.
"Bridgerton" and "Stranger Things," Netlfix's global juggernauts, have been battling for that title for the last four years.
In 2021, "Bridgerton" became Netflix's most-watched TV series, a month after the first season's release, with 82 million views. "Stranger Things" season four, released in 2022, was the first show to smash this record, scoring 140 million total views and more than a billion hours viewed.
Currently, both shows have 2 seasons on the list of Netflix's top 10 most popular English TV shows of all time — seasons three and four of "Stranger Things" are in the 8th and 2nd position, respectively, while seasons one and two of "Bridgerton" are 4th and 9th.
If "Bridgerton" season three makes the top 10, it would be the first show to have three seasons on the most popular list and become Netflix's most-watched TV series.
With 45 million views in one week, "Bridgerton" is already more than halfway to reaching the goal. "The Witcher" season one, which is in the 10th spot on the most popular list, only has 83 million views.
It's also worth noting that half of "Bridgerton" season three has yet to be released. For the first time for the show, Netflix split the release of the season into two, with the second half premiering on June 13.
Netflix used the same strategy for "Stranger Things" season four, which stretched the show's shelf life and likely pushed it to beat "Bridgerton" season one.
The split release method could put "Bridgerton" season three above "Stranger Things" season four if it gains an additional 100 million views over the next month.
"Wednesday" and "Squid Game" have the most-watched seasons for the streamer. The first seasons for both shows gained more than 250 million views.
But until Netflix releases another season for both series, it is too early to tell if they will join the race to become the streamer's biggest TV series.
