With cheers, tears, and “Purple Rain,” Stranger Things 5 wrapped up the series with last week’s finale, giving Netflix its most views ever on a New Year’s Day and putting the season at No. 1 on the English TV list with 31.3 million views. The season also officially joined the Most Popular English TV list, assuming the No. 9 spot with 105.7 million total views. Stranger Things 4 currently holds the No. 3 spot.
Returning to where it all started, viewers put Season 1 at No. 3 (7.6 million views) on the English TV list and launched Season 2 to No. 5 (5.5 million), Season 3 to No. 7 (5 million), and Season 4 to No. 8 (4.8 million), making this the sixth record-setting week that the English series has had all its seasons on the list. The show’s cultural impact continues to manifest itself, and fans now have the newly announced documentary One Last Adventure: The Making of Stranger Things 5 to look forward to when it arrives on Jan. 12.
Viewers craving even more sci-fi and plenty of action gravitated to the Korean disaster movie The Great Flood, putting it at No. 1 on the non-English film list with 11.1 million views. The film, about a mother desperate to keep her son safe amid a flood engulfing their apartment building while discovering her own role in a larger mission to save humanity, also entered the Most Popular non-English film list in its third week on service, debuting at No. 7 with 72.1 million views.
For true crime intrigue, viewers turned to the new documentary Evil Influencer: The Jodi Hildebrandt Story, putting the movie at No. 1 on the English film list with 15 million views. Directed by Skye Borgman (Unknown Number: The High School Catfish), the doc unravels the case of Utah therapist Jodi Hildebrandt, whose involvement in child abuse alongside parenting YouTuber Ruby Franke was just one thread in her web of manipulation.
At No. 2 on the English TV list with 12.7 million views is the new Harlan Coben mystery series Run Away, centered on a father desperate for clues about his missing daughter while a string of related murders heightens the urgency to find her. From Britain to Italy (via France), viewers landed in the fashion-forward and romantically tangled world of Emily in Paris Season 5, putting the series at No. 4 on the list with 7.4 million views as they watched Emily embark on a new romance and reach a career milestone in Rome. Fans are sure to shout “C’est fantastique!” now that the series has been renewed for a sixth season.
Viewers sat down for stand-up last week as they streamed the all-new comedy special Ricky Gervais: Mortality, putting it at No. 6 on the list with 5.1 million views. The irreverent comedian offers hilarious insights on the state of the world and his own mortality. Turning to another comedy legend, viewers continued to laugh at the no-holds-barred musings of Dave Chappelle in his new special, Dave Chappelle: The Unstoppable…, putting it at No. 10 on the list with 2.8 million views.
In addition to taking home the Critics Choice Awards for Best Animated Feature and Best Song (“Golden”) on Sunday, KPop Demon Hunters reclaimed the No. 2 spot on the English film list with 9.4 million views.
The Benoit Blanc threequel Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery, complete with a starry cast and a gothic setting, grabbed the No. 3 spot on the list with 8.1 million views. Kate Winslet’s directorial debut, Goodbye June — about a family saying farewell to their matriarch, played by Helen Mirren — took No. 4 with 6.7 million views.
Cashero, the K-drama about a superhero whose powers fluctuate based on the amount of money in his wallet, flew up to the top spot of the non-English TV list, earning 6.1 million views. That was followed by Land of Sin, which chronicles the investigation of a murdered teenager and the long-held family feuds it reignites. The Swedish limited series debuted at No. 2 on the list with 4.1 million views.
Also new to the non-English TV list this week: Love from 9 to 5, about a hardworking employee in line to become the next CEO of a lingerie company — until, that is, the boss’s charming son shows up. The Mexican sitcom premiered at No. 4 on the list, collecting 2.2 million views.
