Bridgerton smashes streaming records as it becomes Netflix most watched series ever

Streaming giant, Netflix has announced that the drama series ‘Bridgerton’ is its most-watched series ever as 82 million households around the world tuned into the show in its first 28 days online, surpassing the company’s own projections.

According to Netflix, the company measures a view as any piece of content watched for at least two minutes.

Netflix said Bridgerton had made the top 10 in every country it operates in except Japan, and had propelled the books it was written from into the New York Times bestseller list for the first time.

The period drama hit the number one spot in 83 countries, including the US, UK, India, France and Brazil.

The film was welcomed globally as many fans turned to the show at the end of a year marked by coronavirus.

The film series was adapted from a series of historical romance novels by author Julia Quinn, the drama follows members of the Bridgerton family as they navigate London’s high society in the 1800s.

Director Shonda Rhimes was widely praised for her “colour-blind casting” which put black actors in roles traditionally done by white actors.

Bridgerton star Phoebe Dynevor described the news as “utterly insane”.

“I’m SO proud of the incredible team behind this show! And thank you guys for loving it,” the 25-year-old actor, who played Daphne Bridgerton, wrote on Instagram.

The previous record for most-watched debut series on the platform was held by fantasy drama The Witcher, which Netflix said was watched by 76 million households in its first 28 days.

Jinny Howe, vice-president of original series at Netflix, said Bridgerton “defies tradition, and demonstrates that period dramas are not limited in scope or audience”.

“The empowerment of people of colour and women made Bridgerton feel accessible and contemporary, resonating with audiences all around the world,” she wrote in a blog post.