Quartet of British-made shows are the most popular on Netflix
British-made shows have proved to be the most popular with audiences on its global streaming service so far this year, Netflix has revealed.
Ted Sarandos, the co-chief executive of Netflix, said the thriller Fool Me Once, dark comedy Baby Reindeer, period drama Bridgerton and crime caper The Gentlemen took the top four places.
He said the four shows attracted a combined 360m views globally in the first six months of this year.
Sarandos said the full top 10 most-viewed list would be revealed tomorrow and described the UK as “the birthplace of prestige television”, adding that Netflix was currently producing more than 100 shows and films here.
Fool Me Once, based on a novel by Harlan Coben and starring Michelle Keegan alongside Joanna Lumley, is the most popular show on Netflix so far this year with 108m views. Bridgerton drew 92m views, Baby Reindeer 88m and The Gentlemen 76m.
Sarandos, speaking at the Royal Television Society conference yesterday, defended Baby Reindeer, which is the subject of a £133m ($170m) law suit filed by the real-life woman portrayed as the stalker in the hit show.
The show, which picked up six Emmy awards on Sunday, is the account of its creator and star, Richard Gadd. Sarandos said yesterday that Netflix had agreed a “first look” deal with Gadd for his next projects.
In Baby Reindeer Gadd plays the comedian Donny Dunn and gives his account of his experience with a stalker known as “Martha”.
After the debut of the series, which opens with the line “This is a true story”, Fiona Harvey came forward identifying herself as the “real Martha”, alleging that the show contained material untruths about her.
Harvey has filed a lawsuit in California against Netflix alleging defamation, intentional infliction of emotional distress, negligence, gross negligence and violations of her right of publicity.
“We are facilitating storytellers to tell their stories,” said Sarandos. “Baby Reindeer is [Gadd’s] story, he told his story, it is not a documentary.”