The 10 Most Popular Series and Miniseries of ALL TIME on Netflix

The popularity of a production is a factor that does not depend on good reviews and financial success – when it comes to films in theaters. At home, with series and films in streaming, their coverage is measured by the audience. And then yes, in this parameter we have a greater affinity between the large number of viewers and the notoriety of the programs with the public. For example, we might have a show that was highly praised by critics and pundits, and embraced by its viewers and fans, but just failed to reach a large audience and become truly popular. On the other hand, we also have these kinds of series that critics have pushed around and audiences love to talk bad about, but which for some reason have become extremely popular with viewers. Indeed, “speaking badly” is part of the popularity of a production, since to depreciate it you must have watched it. In other words, popularity depends a lot on how much interest a particular product arouses in the viewer to watch it. Whether they like it or not, it’s still five hundred.

Keeping this in mind, this crucial factor for the longevity of a television show, here we will discuss the most popular series of all time in the history of Netflix, the number 1 platform today. And for that, we will not use the ratings of critics or those given by the general public. Here, we’ll use as a metric the number of ratings a given program has received from audiences on the network’s largest movie site, IMDB. In other words, the Netflix shows that have attracted the most audiences since the company began operations. Check it out below.

Also read: ‘Stranger Things’ and Netflix’s most popular series still streaming on the platform

Ranked tenth on Netflix’s most popular series of all time is this family drama mixed with crime thriller. Ozark opens our story, telling the story of a family whose patriarch (Jason Bateman’s role – more accustomed to comedies) works as an accountant for drug traffickers, having to do big money laundering in five years. For this, he moves to another city with his wife (Laura Linney) and daughter (Julia Garner). After four seasons, which premiered in 2017, the series ended in January this year – but it remains one of the most popular shows among fans in Netflix history. The series has over 290,000 viewer ratings.

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The first that we never forget. This series, which ranks ninth among the most popular of all time on the streaming platform, was also one of the first for Netflix, and one of its first major successes. Released in July 2013, Orange is the New Black tackles the world of women’s prisons in the United States by basing its narrative on a true story. The protagonist is the blonde Taylor Schilling, who has become the money of the house, playing a version of the real Piper Kerman, a young woman who ends up being sentenced to a year and a half in prison thanks to illegal favors she has do to an ex-girlfriend. The series lasted no less than seven seasons, until 2019, and has nearly 300,000 audiences.

It makes us very proud to see that one of the most popular series of all time on Netflix has the participation of our compatriot, the dear and talented Wagner Moura. And not only that, the 100% Brazilian actor is one of the decoys and protagonists of Narcos. Moura, of course, masterfully brings Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar to life, historically known as one of the greatest drug traffickers and criminals of all time, building a veritable empire at his peak. Decidedly, Escobar de Moura entered the hall of not only his best performances, but also the hall of the best villains of recent dramaturgy. And best of all, a charismatic villain. Narcos debuted in 2015, being one of Netflix’s first sensations. The show aired for three seasons until 2017 (only the first two with Moura and Escobar) and spawned another series, Narcos: Mexico – which also ran for three seasons until 2021. The original has over 400,000 fan reviews.

Now on the list we have the first miniseries that appears. It’s also the only one of the format to find a place and be among the most popular of all time on Netflix. The difference between a miniseries and a conventional series is that the premiere is planned with a beginning, a middle and an end, throughout its episodes – with no intention of continuing its story for new seasons. This way, The Queen’s Gambit only has its seven episodes for fans to enjoy. The program is based on the novel by author Walter Tevis, the same author of Challenge to Corruption (1961), The Color of Money (1986) and The Man Who Fell to Earth (1976), and in its texts addresses the obsession. Here, a young orphan becomes a chess prodigy. The star is Anya Taylor-Joy, earning a few more points in her stardom with a standout performance. The miniseries gets over 410,000 ratings.

In the article about the most popular shows on Netflix still playing, I tried to put as a bonus this Squid Game (English title of Round 6), a South Korean production. This is due to the fact that it is not a Netflix original series, which only has the rights to be broadcast worldwide. In any case, if included, it would be the third today. But taking into account its much-heralded worldwide audience, it has become the most-watched of all time on the platform. Considering fan ratings on the internet’s largest movie site, IMDB, Round 6 ranks sixth among the most popular streaming videos of all time here. Round 6 was released in 2021 and already has a second season confirmed. The program has garnered more than 420,000 reviews from the public.

Do you remember when the Marvel series belonged to Netflix? Well, that hasn’t happened in such a distant past, having happened in 2015 for the first time. It was a time when the platform was launching its first phenomena, and partnering with Marvel would help. The first of those six series in total was Daredevil, which kicked down the door with both feet and made us forget about the previous film adaptation, starring Ben Affleck. Then followed in the wake of Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, Iron Fist, The Punisher and the miniseries The Defenders. Too bad Disney pulled the plug before seeing the Bullseye version of the show. Apparently, Disney Plus plans to continue these series, now in their domains. Anyway, on Netflix, Daredevil ran for three seasons and has over 421,000 fan reviews.

Quoting again from the other article I wrote, with the most popular series on Netflix still running, this medieval fantasy adventure show, starring current Superman Henry Cavill, won the second position on the listing. For fans and users of the network’s largest movie site, IMDB, it manages to surpass even the almighty Round 6 in popularity. Me, not much. Anyway, adapted from a series of books and games, The Witcher ended up being demoted two positions in the list of all-time most popular in the house. That means fans have found two more beloved series to include ahead of the show starring Cavill. Even so, The Witcher made a substantial jump from fifth place, with over 468,000 viewership.

In third place on the list of the most popular series of all time on Netflix, we have yet another show from the past. Looking at this new ranking, you can see that it’s mostly made up of series that have already ended – whose popularity, to be fair, has had more time to grow and conquer. So, so far we’ve had series like Ozark, Orange Is the New Black, Narcos, Demolidor, and the O Gambito da Rainha miniseries, all duly completed and still favored above current sensations. House of Cards has the moral of being the first phenomenon of the platform, the first show of extreme popularity, produced in an original form by Netflix. The suspenseful and dramatic plot about an American politician who rises to the presidency of the United States is actually the version of a British series. But the success of this kind of remake managed to surpass its predecessor. Unfortunately, before its end, House of Cards would be marked by the sexual harassment scandal of its protagonist, the “damned” Kevin Spacey, who was summarily dismissed from the last season, in 2018. The series has six seasons, since 2013, and has over 495,000 public ratings.

Here, in second place on the list, taking the silver medal, we will take a small detour. There are extremely successful productions on Netflix, such as Round 6 and Cobra Kai, which are not house originals. That is, they are produced by other companies, but have been distributed by the biggest streaming platform today, sharing the laurels with it. This is more or less the case with Black Mirror, a cult series that became a phenomenon thanks to the push from Netflix. Initially, the futuristic series that comments on our relationship to the most varied machines and technologies, always with a melancholy or acid vision, was broadcast on the British channel Channel 4, where it aired its first two seasons, without the due impact. The series was even canceled. Imagine, we wouldn’t have the phenomenon he has become. That’s when Netflix saw the potential and decided to buy the rights, in addition to producing the third season itself – which has some of the best episodes, like San Junipero. The show, which may return soon, has over 519,000 fan reviews.

It really doesn’t matter to anyone. Recently, I did an article that revealed the most popular current Netflix series with the general public – that is, the shows that were still on the air (in the age of streaming resulting in new guaranteed seasons). And there was no other, first of all of course it was Stranger Things. Proving that it’s not only beloved among current series, the Duffer Brothers-created show also conquers the top position among the most popular of all time on Netflix. It’s moral! So that there is no longer any doubt about comparisons with series that have already ended, but which remain extremely popular, such as House of Cards, Orange is the New Black, Narcos and Daredevil; it is necessary to recognize the data and the facts. Taking into account the ratings of the general public on the largest movie site on the net, IMDB, Stranger Things is by far the biggest Netflix series and one of the biggest of all other platforms and channels. It is because the extremely nostalgic series, set in the 80s, which caused a sensation among the young girl Millie Bobby Brown, and brought veteran Winona Ryder back to the fore, has no less than 1 million reviews from the public around. the world. Take that. Stranger Things is truly a gem of popular culture today, and its popularity will resonate a lot down the years.

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