While Netflix has had many hit shows over the years, one that has certainly become a global phenomenon is Bridgerton. The period drama, created by Shondaland and based on Julia Quinn’s novels, has grown in viewership with every season, as the latest numbers prove.
Variety reports that the third season, which follows the love story between Penelope and Colin, hit 45.1 million views in its opening weekend on the platform (which premiered with only four episodes). According to FlixPatrol, the show became the number one of the Top 10 globally and in the US, in only a day.
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Like the novels, each season focuses on a different Bridgerton sibling and its love story. So, when Season 1 leads Regé-Jean Page and Phoebe Dynevor stepped aside for the second installment, there were some questions surrounding the format’s possible success. However, the numbers have improved. Here’s how every season stands in the popularity contest.
Season 1 – Daphne and Simon’s love story (2020)
In the Most Popular List on Netflix, the first Season remains the most-watched of the three with 929,300,000 hours viewed or 113,300,000 views. Globally, it’s the fourth most streamed series, following “Wednesday” (Season 1), “Stranger Things 4” and “DAHMER: Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story.”
Regé-Jean Page and Phoebe Dynevor in Season 1 of ‘Bridgerton’ (Netflix)
However, at the time of its release, Netflix didn’t offer numbers for opening weekends. In January 2021, Netflix announced that the series hit 625 million hours viewed. So, if we take into account the series total runtime (8:12), it had 78,125,000 views. It was the most-watched original series launch at the time of its premiere in December 2020.
Season 2 – Anthony and Kate’s love story (2022)
Meanwhile, Season 2, starring Jonathan Bailey and Simone Ashley, premiered in March, 2022. It debuted number one in 92 countries, and during its opening weekend (three days) amassed 193 million viewing hours, being the highest opening for any English-language Netflix series at the time.
Jonathan Bailey and Simone Ashley in Season 2 of ‘Bridgerton’ (Netflix)
If divided by its runtime (8:30), Season 2 hit 22.7 million views during its opening weekend. In the Most Popular Global List, Season 2 is the ninth most-watched, with a total of 797,200,000 hours viewed (93,800,000 views).
Season 3 – Colin and Penelope’s story (2024)
So, compared to Season 2, the third season had the biggest opening of the series so far, with 45.1 million views over four days. Meanwhile, the second part, which premiered a month later, hit 28 million views in the final four episodes’ first four days of availability.
Nicola Coughlan and Luke Newton in Season 3 of ‘Bridgerton’ (Netflix)
Lastly, Season 3 has officially enteres the Most Popular List (English) after hitting 91.9M views so far. Netflix measures the views based on views during each title’s first 91 days of streaming, and it has been calculated only 45 days after its premiere, so it will likely surpass Season 2 in the ranks. It seems like the Bridgerton’s fandom grows bigger with every season.
