The brand new Hulu drama Paradise, from This is Us creator Dan Fogelman, is already such a buzzworthy hit for the streamer — with four episodes under its belt, as of this writing — that Hulu decided to spike the ball a little bit and do something it rarely does for its TV shows: It released some viewership data.
Hulu said that the thriller, starring Sterling K. Brown as a Secret Service agent, pulled in 7 million views for its debut episode across its first nine days of streaming availability. Not bad, especially considering that Hulu parent Disney defines a “view” as a total stream time divided by an episode’s runtime — none of that annoying “watched for at least a few seconds” trickery that certain other streamers engage in.
If you haven’t started watching it yet, know that Paradise — which Reelgood has pegged this week as the #1 show across all of streaming — is a little hard to describe without spoiling things. Basically, it starts off in 24-ish territory, kind of, before spinning way off into something completely different. I actually think I may have yelled something at my screen at the end of Episode 1, bewildered by the curveball the show throws at you — and based on what I’m seeing in my social feeds, I’m certainly not alone in having gotten caught up in the show’s entertaining blend of suspense and psychological intrigue.
Between this and Severance, it’s been a while since I’ve rearranged my schedule for TV shows. The latest Reelgood TV chart, by the way, covers the seven-day period that ended on Feb, 5, and it’s based on Reelgood monitoring 20 million viewing decisions each month across every major TV platform in the US, from Apple TV+ to HBO, Max, Peacock, Disney+, Hulu, Netflix, Prime Video, and Paramount+.
I can’t wait to see what’s next after that devastating fourth episode of Paradise, which I’m not surprised at all is at the top of this week’s list of the buzziest TV shows. As for what other shows are hot at the moment, meanwhile, here’s a closer look at the complete rundown, based on Reelgood’s data.
1. Paradise (Hulu). As noted above, Paradise is a show that’s best experienced by coming at it cold, so I’ll rely on Hulu’s somewhat vague description: “Paradise is set in a serene community inhabited by some of the world’s most prominent individuals. But this tranquility explodes when a shocking murder occurs and a high-stakes investigation unfolds.”
2. Severance (Apple TV+). At this point, it’s going to be hard for any other streaming TV shows to match Severance Season 2, quality-wise, as far as I’m concerned. Director Ben Stiller and the rest of the team took what was already a fascinating premise — imagine if your work-life balance was so extreme that you literally became two different people, one who only exists at the office and another with no memory of their job whatsoever — and turned it all the way up to 11 for the new season.
3. The Night Agent (Netflix). The biggest Netflix show in the world at the moment, The Night Agent is a nonstop, pulse-pounding thriller in which a low-level FBI agent answers a late-night call on a secret emergency line that plunges him into a deadly conspiracy.
4. High Potential (ABC/Hulu). This crime drama is about a single mom with an exceptional mind for helping the police solve tricky cases. Starring Kaitlin Olson, the show blends mystery and humor as she teams up with a by-the-book detective.
5. The Recruit (Netflix). In this spy thriller from Netflix, Noah Centineo stars as a rookie CIA lawyer who gets caught up in a murky web of espionage when a former asset threatens to spill agency secrets.
6. Silo (Apple TV+). From Apple’s description of one of its best sci-fi TV shows, “In a ruined and toxic future, thousands live in a giant silo deep underground. After its sheriff breaks a cardinal rule and residents die mysteriously, engineer Juliette (Rebecca Ferguson) starts to uncover shocking secrets and the truth about the silo.”
7. The Pitt (Max). ER doctors and nurses are confronted with medical crises, personal dramas, and workplace politics in this drama from the creative team behind NBC’s ER, each episode of which unfolds in real time.
8. Prime Target (Apple TV+). This next Apple release on Reelgood’s list of the biggest TV shows of the week is sort of like what you’d get if you crossed Good Will Hunting with Enemy of the State. A brilliant young mathematician makes a discovery that has lots of bad people with guns after him.
9. American Primeval (Netflix). Starring Taylor Kitsch, this brutal Western miniseries is a blood-soaked journey into the lawless American frontier, where survival isn’t guaranteed and civilization is just a distant dream. It features epic battles, untamed landscapes, and a look at the raw, violent birth of a nation.
10. Abbott Elementary (Hulu). We don’t have enough great half-hour comedies anymore, if you ask me. Luckily, Abbott Elementary is here to fix that. Per Hulu, the show “follows a group of dedicated, passionate teachers — and a slightly tone-deaf principal — who are brought together in a Philadelphia public school where, despite the odds stacked against them, they are determined to help their students succeed in life.”
