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More proof that signing Shonda Rhimes was one of the best deals Netflix ever made

Updated Apr 12th, 2022 5:29PM EDT
Young woman wearing dark glasses in front of a pool
Image: Aaron Epstein/Netflix

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Following her massive TV success with hits like Grey’s Anatomy — and then getting signed to Netflix for a production deal in 2017 that she re-upped last year — Shonda Rhimes has already proven her worth to the streaming giant many times over. That’s thanks to her hits like Bridgerton, one of Netflix’s biggest shows ever, but also the newly launched Inventing Anna. Which Netflix subscribers around the world spent a staggering amount of time watching, during the week ended February 27.

Every week, Netflix publishes online a global breakdown of all the hottest content across the platform. Broken down, more specifically, into four categories: English-language movies and TV show, and non-English movies and TV shows. Needless to say, Rhimes’ Inventing Anna — which dramatizes the crimes of fake heiress Anna Delvey — totally crushed its category on the latest Netflix list. Giving the streamer yet another huge hit with Rhimes’ fingerprints on it.

Inventing Anna — #1 on Netflix

Julia Garner as Anna Delvey in episode 102 of Inventing Anna.
Julia Garner as Anna Delvey in the Netflix original series “Inventing Anna.” Image source: Netflix

For the seven-day period that ended February 27, Inventing Anna garnered a pretty staggering 130.8 million hours viewed globally across the streamer. Nothing else on Netflix’s latest Top 10 list cracked the 100 million hours mark, which is all the more impressive.

For the unaware, this 9-episode series is described by Netflix thus. “A journalist with a lot to prove investigates the case of Anna Delvey, the Instagram-legendary German heiress who stole the hearts of New York’s social scene — and stole their money as well. But is Anna New York’s biggest con woman or is she simply the new portrait of the American dream?

“Anna and the reporter form a dark, funny love-hate bond as Anna awaits trial and our reporter fights the clock to answer the biggest question in NYC: Aho is Anna Delvey?”

We should add: The series was inspired by a New York Magazine article (How Anna Delvey Tricked New York’s Party People), penned by Jessica Pressler.

Most watched Netflix shows — Global Top 10

Another important to note, regarding Inventing Anna, involves its ratings and viewer reaction. Just beacuse it dominated the Netflix Top 10 ranking below, for example, doesn’t mean it was roundly praised to an equivalent degree. On the contrary: The series actually has pretty middling reviews on Rotten Tomatoes at the moment, for example.

On the critics side, the score there is a not-so-great 64 percent right now (based on 73 reviews). Viewers, however, have rated the movie much worse. A pretty shabby 33 percent there.

Meanwhile, what you’ll find below is this week’s full list from Netflix representing the Top 10 English-language TV shows globally. They’re listed, in order, below — along with the number of hours of viewership they garnered.

  1. Inventing Anna — 130.8 million hours viewed
  2. Vikings: Valhalla, Season 1 — 80.5 million hours viewed
  3. Love is Blind, Season 2 — 53.6 million hours viewed
  4. One of Us is Lying, Season 1 — 33.7 million hours viewed
  5. The Cuphead Show!, Season 1 — 20.8 million hours viewed
  6. Sweet Magnolias, Season 2 — 18.6 million hours viewed
  7. Ozark, Season 4 Part 1 — 12.8 million hours viewed
  8. Space Force, Season 2 — 12.3 million hours viewed
  9. Raising Dion, Season 2 — 11.7 million hours viewed
  10. jeen-yuhs: A Kanye Triology — 11.4 million hours viewed
Andy Meek Trending News Editor

Andy Meek is a reporter based in Memphis who has covered media, entertainment, and culture for over 20 years. His work has appeared in outlets including The Guardian, Forbes, and The Financial Times, and he’s written for BGR since 2015. Andy's coverage includes technology and entertainment, and he has a particular interest in all things streaming.

Over the years, he’s interviewed legendary figures in entertainment and tech that range from Stan Lee to John McAfee, Peter Thiel, and Reed Hastings.