Netflix finished 2019 so strong, but it somehow seems like it has managed to start off 2020 even stronger. December in particular was a monster month for the streaming media giant, with high-profile releases that included a new season of Lost In Space, the shocking documentary Don’t F**k With Cats, the Oscar-nominated movie Marriage Story, and of course the premiere season of The Witcher, which has turned out to be one of Netflix’s most popular shows ever. You should definitely look through all of Netflix’s original releases from December because there’s a good chance you missed something huge… but then January started just as strong with releases like Messiah, Ragnarok, a new season of Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, and the second half of BoJack Horseman’s final season. And as for Netflix’s February lineup of original shows and movies, all you need to know is that a series that premiered on February 7th is still one of the most-watched shows out there right now, nearly a month later. That’s right, the epic new fantasy show Locke & Key is #3 on this week’s list of the 10 most popular shows people are binge-watching right now, and another new Netflix original has stolen the #1 spot at the top of the list.
The first season of Locke & Key really was terrific, and you should definitely watch it if you hadn’t already. The trailer makes the show seem like it has a bit of a CW vibe — not that there’s anything wrong with CW — but we can assure you that it’s nothing like a CW show. The production value is great, the writing is terrific, the acting is fine aside from one performance (why the heck did they write Dodge like that?!), and the story is outstanding. Whether or not you’re a fan of the graphic novels, you need to watch the show. But there’s another Netflix original series you should probably watch first, and it just premiered in the #1 spot on this week’s list of the most binge-watched shows.
I Am Not Okay With This was created by Jonathan Entwistle, who also created End Of The F***ing World. It has a very similar style and feel, and it also focuses on the trials and tribulations of troubled teens. This time around, however, there’s a supernatural twist: the protagonist Syd discovers that she has superpowers she can’t control.
The return of Netflix’s show Altered Carbon is #4 on the list this week, and the streaming giant has two other shows on in the top 10 as well. One is Sex Education at #8, and the other is Love Is Blind at #10. As for the rest of the list, you’ll find perennial favorite Friends in the #2 slot, Brooklyn Nine-Nine and Grey’s Anatomy at #5 and #6, the History Channel’s Vikings at #7, and CW’s Riverdale at #9. Here’s how everything shakes out in order:
- I Am Not Okay With This (Netflix)
- Friends (NBC)
- Locke & Key (Netflix)
- Altered Carbon (Netflix)
- Brooklyn Nine-Nine (NBC)
- Grey’s Anatomy (ABC)
- Vikings (History Channel)
- Sex Education (Netflix)
- Riverdale (CW)
- Love Is Blind (Netflix)
As for how the list is determined, we have the developer behind the popular iPhone and Android app TV Time to thank. The app is used by millions of people to track the shows they watch each week, and anytime four or more episodes are marked as watched within one day, TV Time sees it as a binge. It’s obviously not an exact science, but it’s one of the best gauges we have when trying to determine the most popular shows out there on a weekly basis.
