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Netflix's 14 biggest TV shows of all time, including 'Wednesday' and 'Stranger Things'

"Stranger Things" season four.
Tina Rowden / Netflix
  • Netflix's Korean-language series "Squid Game" is its biggest TV show ever by a wide margin.
  • The "Addams Family" spinoff "Wednesday" quickly became one of its most popular shows recently.
  • Netflix ranks seasons of shows by total viewing hours globally in their first 28 days of availability.

14. "13 Reasons Why" season two — 496.12 million hours

Netflix

Description: "High school student Clay Jensen lands in the center of a series of heartbreaking mysteries set in motion by a friend's tragic suicide."

Rotten Tomatoes critic score: 28%

What critics said: "'13 Reasons Why' is not fundamentally interested in starting a conversation. It's interested in shocking, and it does not care how cheaply it might go about creating that shock." — Vox

13. "Inventing Anna" (limited series) — 511.89 million hours

In "Inventing Anna," Sorokin hosts a dinner party with Martin Shkreli.
Netflix

Description: "Audacious entrepreneur or con artist? A reporter digs into how Anna Delvey convinced New York's elite she was a German heiress. Based on a true story."

Rotten Tomatoes critic score: 64%

What critics said: "The show certainly provides indulgence (if maybe not enough for my taste). Its failure is in the framing of Delvey's story: It's depicted as a quasi-feminist, girlboss-adjacent revenge fantasy." — Vox

12. "The Witcher" season one — 541.01 million hours

Netflix

Description: "Geralt of Rivia, a mutated monster-hunter for hire, journeys toward his destiny in a turbulent world where people often prove more wicked than beasts."

Rotten Tomatoes critic score: 68%

What critics said: "In contrast to its halfhearted approach to exposition, the series finds its footing in the graphic depiction of violence." — Slant Magazine

11. "Lucifer" season five — 569.48 million hours

Netflix

Description: "Bored with being the Lord of Hell, the devil relocates to Los Angeles, where he opens a nightclub and forms a connection with a homicide detective."

Rotten Tomatoes critic score: 81%

What critics said: "This second half feels stronger than the first, in part because it does what Lucifer does best." — IGN

10. "All of Us Are Dead" season one — 560.78 million hours

Netflix

Description: "A high school becomes ground zero for a zombie virus outbreak. Trapped students must fight their way out — or turn into one of the rabid infected."

Rotten Tomatoes critic score: 83%

What critics said: "This 12-part South Korean Netflix series about zombies invading a high school is gruesome, thrilling, and highly addictive." — The Daily Beast

9. "Stranger Things" season three — 582.1 million hours

"Stranger Things."
Netflix

Description: "When a young boy vanishes, a small town uncovers a mystery involving secret experiments, terrifying supernatural forces and one strange little girl."

Rotten Tomatoes critic score: 89%

What critics said: "Even while some things go a bit too predictably, the last two episodes tie everything and everyone together in spectacular, emotional fashion." — Dallas Morning News

8. "Money Heist" season four — 619.01 million hours

Netflix

Description: "Eight thieves take hostages and lock themselves in the Royal Mint of Spain as a criminal mastermind manipulates the police to carry out his plan."

Rotten Tomatoes critic score: 80%

What critics said: "We love to see talented people overcome the odds and perform the impossible, even if in this case, they're ripping off the mint and printing stolen money. With Money Heist, we're offered a pleasure-driven, rollicking, charming mix of all of the above." — Globe and Mail

 

7. "Bridgerton" season one — 625.49 million

Daphne Bridgerton and Simon Basset on "Bridgerton."
LIAM DANIEL/NETFLIX

Description: "The eight close-knit siblings of the Bridgerton family look for love and happiness in London high society. Inspired by Julia Quinn's bestselling novels."

Rotten Tomatoes critic score: 87%

What critics said: "Bridgerton gives us everything we're craving right now: extravagant parties, elaborate outfits, salacious gossip, human touch." — Chicago Reader 

6. "Bridgerton" season two — 656.26 million hours

Simone Ashley on season two of "Bridgerton."
LIAM DANIEL/NETFLIX

Description: "The eight close-knit siblings of the Bridgerton family look for love and happiness in London high society. Inspired by Julia Quinn's bestselling novels."

Rotten Tomatoes critic score: 77%

What critics said: "This sophomore run is simply not as effusive a watch ... That said, many of the series pleasures still remain intact." — Rolling Stone

5. "Money Heist" season five — 792.23 million hours

"Money Heist."
Netflix

Description: "Eight thieves take hostages and lock themselves in the Royal Mint of Spain as a criminal mastermind manipulates the police to carry out his plan."

Rotten Tomatoes critic score: 90%

What critics said: "For every wrong move it makes, it gives you a dozen reasons to feel giddy over its sheer audacity and how high its getting off its own genre fumes. It manages to keep stealing you back to its side. That's the real heist." — Rolling Stone

4. "Dahmer: Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story" — 856.2 million hours

Netflix released "Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story" on September 21.
Netflix

Description: "A young Jeff contends with troubles at home and school. Years later, his strange behavior evolves into murderous deeds that slip past the police."

Rotten Tomatoes critic score: 57%

What critics said: "While the series respectfully mourns and inveighs all the loss that surrounds him, it also turns Dahmer into a hideously immortal thing: an icon." — Vanity Fair

3. "Wednesday" season one — 1.196 billion hours

Jenna Ortega as Wednesday Addams in "Wednesday" on Netflix.
Netflix

Description: "Smart, sarcastic, and a little dead inside, Wednesday Addams investigates a murder spree while making new friends — and foes — at Nevermore Academy."

Rotten Tomatoes critic score: 72%

What critics said: "Seeking to bring something new a property like the 'Addams Family,' which has been done so many times before, isn't easy without altering its DNA. To its credit, 'Wednesday' rises to the challenge and mostly manages to make it look like a snap." — CNN

2. "Stranger Things" season four — 1.352 billion hours

"Stranger Things."
Netflix

Description: "When a young boy vanishes, a small town uncovers a mystery involving secret experiments, terrifying supernatural forces and one strange little girl."

Rotten Tomatoes critic score: 91%

What critics said: "Amid the show's ballooning scale and scope, 'Stranger Things' finds an unexpected anchor not in its ensemble of fan favorites but in its latest villain." — The Atlantic

1. "Squid Game" season one — 1.65 billion hours

Netflix

Description: "Hundreds of cash-strapped players accept a strange invitation to compete in children's games. Inside, a tempting prize awaits — with deadly high stakes."

Rotten Tomatoes critic score: 94%

What critics said: "Its messages hit like a sledgehammer to the head, yet this vibrant, vicious series holds a surprisingly big heart at its core. A winning blend of spectacle and sentiment." — Empire Magazine

This post has been updated with the most recent data from Netflix.

 

Disclosure: Mathias Döpfner, CEO of Business Insider's parent company, Axel Springer, is a Netflix board member.