British Shows, Including Baby Reindeer and The Gentlemen, Are Among Netflix’s Most Streamed

The British are ruling Netflix, at least when it comes to the streaming charts. According to Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos (via Deadline), the streamer’s top four most-watched series for the first half of the year all hailed from across the pond. Episodes of Netflix’s British hits Fool Me Once, Bridgerton, The Gentlemen, and Baby Reindeer collectively racked up 360 million views from January through June 2024. These numbers and the streamer’s other most-watched shows for the first half of the year will be released by Netflix later this week.

Sarando spoke on the numbers while appearing at the Royal Television Society London Convention, where he also sang the British entertainment industry’s praises, calling the UK “one of the best countries in the world for TV and film.” Despite lagging behind the BBC in the UK market, Sarandos expressed optimism about reaching a 25% market share by keeping “the audience upfront.” According to an August report from Deadline, Americans flocked towards British productions on Netflix and Amazon Prime while the US film industry maneuvered the Hollywood strikes.

Sarando’s comments occurred during an announcement that Baby Reindeer creator, writer, executive producer, and star Richard Gadd had signed a multi-year first-look deal with the streamer for scripted series.

Baby Reindeer’s Big Emmy Wins

While The Gentlemen, Bridgerton, Baby Reindeer, and Fool Me Once all share high viewership numbers, there’s one standout when it comes to audience and critical praise. Gadd’s Baby Reindeer, which quietly landed on the streamer in April, hasn’t just amassed millions of streams on Netflix. The black-comedy, which is based on Gadd’s journey and struggles with identity, abuse, and a stalker, gained critical praise (it currently holds a near perfect 98% rating on Rotten Tomatoes), and collected four major Emmy Awards during Sunday’s ceremony.

Baby Reindeer earned the Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series or Movie statuette, while Gadd received Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series or Movie and Outstanding Writing for a Limited Series or Movie wins. Jessica Gunning was recognized for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited Series or Movie, winning the Emmy for her portrayal of Martha. The series also secured wins for Casting and Picture Editing.

While Baby Reindeer and the drama Fool Me Once won’t return for their second seasons, Bridgerton and Guy Ritchie’s The Gentlemen will both expand their stories in upcoming seasons. Just yesterday, we learned that filming for Bridgerton’s anticipated fourth season was officially underway. The Gentlemen was renewed for a second season in August, but filming is not expected to begin until next year. Of course, this means viewers will have to wait a while before seeing the following chapters of those shows. Still, Netflix houses plenty of British offerings to hold fans over, including the Ricky Gervais-led After Life, the political thriller Black Earth Rising, starring the always impressive Michaela Coel, and the Black Mirror anthology.