The 25 Most Watched Netflix Series in the First Half of 2024, According to Netflix

Netflix is notoriously stingy on revealing viewership data, but the streaming giant has given us a peek behind the curtain in recent years, especially with its twice annual What We Watched: A Netflix Engagement Report. The data reveals which shows were watched most across the globe over a six-month period, and the latest, released in September, covers the time from Jan. 1 to June 30, 2024.

Netflix's list is divided by seasons of shows, and for simplicity, we've organized it by total views rather than the other metric Netflix uses, which is total hours and favors series with more and longer episodes. (Netflix measures a "view" as hours watched divided by a show's runtime.)

What We Watched isn't a perfect indicator of what's popular on Netflix, however. Shows released early in the designated time period have the advantage of having a longer eligible run, while shows released later in the time period do not. For example, a show released in early January will have six months of data, while a show released in early May will only have two. Keep that in mind while digesting the numbers.

You'll find some surprises on this list sprinkled among the usual suspects, as well as an interesting mix of countries of origin, showing just how big Netflix's reach is. Can you guess what No. 1 is?  

Baby Bazinga! The Big Bang Theory prequel's debut season was the most-watched licensed live-action series on Netflix for the first half of 2024 with 23 million views. The next most-watched non-Young Sheldon import was Suits Season 1, with 16.2 million views. 

The French action drama Furies makes a somewhat surprising appearance on the list at No. 24, with 23.3 million views. The series stars Lina El Arabi as a student looking for those who killed her criminal parents, while a woman known as the Fury tries to recruit her as a peacekeeper between France's major crime families. Not to be confused with Furries, which is a very different thing.

CoComelon Lane is a spin-off of the wildly popular toddler series CoComelon, but this one has an actual story and dialogue, and isn't just mind-numbing sing-songs that will drive you to a mentally dark place, from which you will never return. 23.9 million frustrated parents sat their kids down in front of CoComelon Lane for a little peace and quiet.

The Brothers Sun may have landed on this list with 23.9 million views, but it wasn't enough to keep the show going; Netflix canceled it after just one season. Geez, Netflix. What does a show have to do to NOT get canceled?

ALSO READ: The Brothers Sun review: Martial arts meets crime dramedy in this lively series

You can slap "Bridgerton" on any show title, and it would be a Netflix hit. Boosted by the release of Bridgerton Season 3 in June, this Bridgerton prequel was watched 24.4 million times, despite being over a year old. Expect CoComelon: Bridgerton to be announced any day now.

ALSO READ: Queen Charlotte's painfully romantic final scene is the crown jewel of the show

The Korean horror series Parasyte: The Grey made the Top 20 with 25.4 million views, because we just can't get enough of human beings turning into disgusting creatures. It's one of two Korean titles to make Netflix's engagement report, the other — no spoilers here — being further up the list.

No matter how much this show raised its voice, this is the first I'm hearing of it. Raising Voices, the Spanish teen drama about sexual assault, netted 25.4 million views, but was far from the most-watched Spanish language series on this list.

Testament: The Story of Moses is widely considered by critics and audiences as a piece of junk for its too-safe storytelling and wimpy production values, but it still found 26.3 million views. Thou shalt watch any religious programming, even if it stinks!

This limited series starring Benedict Cumberbatch was a strange one, and scored 26.4 million views. Eric starred Cumberbatch as a puppeteer whose son is kidnapped, so he began to imagine his son's imaginary creation came to life to help him find his son. Told you it was weird.

ALSO READ: Eric review: Benedict Cumberbatch is a sad man with puppets in dark Netflix drama

The YA romance drama series My Life With the Walter Boys was viewed 27.2 million times, because no one can resist a love triangle between a girl from the big city and two brothers from the sticks. 

ALSO READ: Everything we know about My Life With the Walter Boys Season 2

Never underestimate the power of kids. Or pigs. Season 6 of the award-winning children's series Peppa Pig was viewed 27.5 million times in the first half of 2024. All six seasons of Peppa Pig were in the top 75.

Kim Soo-hyun and Kim Ji-won star in the Korean drama Queen of Tears, the most-watch Asian Netflix series of the first half of 2024 with 29.2 million views. The emotional roller coaster charts the ups and downs of a marriage. 

The Spanish miniseries The Asunta Case is based on the Asunta Basterra case, in which a 13-year-old adopted Chinese girl was reported missing by her parents and found murdered in Santiago, Chile. The show was viewed 30.7 million times, and is the second-highest series on the list that is entirely in a foreign language.

Just how big is Bridgerton? Fans' rewatches of previous seasons were big enough to make them chart on Netflix's most-watched list. Season 2, which was released 2022, had 34.2 million views, more than 3.5 times than the Emmy-baiting limited series Ripley.

ALSO READ: Bridgerton is finally setting up a queer love story; what will that look like in Season 4?

Season 1 of Bridgerton got more views than Season 2 (38.4 million vs. 34.2 million) in anticipation of Season 3. Though this report by Netflix sorts views by season, Bridgerton got the most views by far of any single show over the time period, proving that it is one of the streamer's biggest hits. Take that, CoComelon!

ALSO READ: More shows like Bridgerton

Is there anything more bingeable than British people falling in love? Though One Day's romance doesn't go as far back in time as Bridgerton, it still was a part of history as one of the top 10 shows of the first half of 2024 with 39.4 million views. Leo Woodall and Ambika Mod star as a lad and a lass who get together over several exhilarating and turbulent years. 

ALSO READ: One Day review: Ambika Mod and Leo Woodall give Netflix's compelling romance its spark

You want to know why streamers love to greenlight new shows based on familiar IP? Money Heist: Berlin, that's why. The prequel to Álex Pina's international hit was panned by critics and fans, but just having the well-known name in the title was enough to draw 48.5 million views. Yep, Netflix greenlit a second season, obviously.

The ambitious adaptation of Liu Cixin's epic sci-fi novel from Alexander Woo and the creators of Game of Thrones waited for a long time to get Season 2 renewal news, despite recording 52.4 million views, likely because the effects-heavy series costs a ton of money to make. But now Netflix is all in, and has ordered a third and final season as well.

ALSO READ: Everything to know about 3 Body Problem Season 2

Arguably Netflix's biggest success of the first six months of 2024 was American Nightmare, a true crime docuseries about a potential home invasion and kidnapping in Vallejo, Calif. The three-part series drew 55 million views at a fraction of the production costs of other shows in the Top 10. Netflix could probably make five American Nightmares for the price of one episode of 3 Body Problem.

ALSO READ: American Nightmare: Where are the kidnappers, victims, and police now?

Sofia Vergara's limited series biopic about Griselda Blanco, the notorious Colombian drug lord, was the top Netflix show in 89 countries when it debuted in early 2024. It ended up just outside of the top five shows of the first half of 2024, with 69.2 million views. 

ALSO READ: Griselda review: Sofia Vergara is terrifyingly good in the Narcos team's new crime drama

Despite mixed reviews from fans and critics, Netflix's live-action adaptation of Avatar: The Last Airbender bent viewership to its will, with 71.1 million views. That was enough data for Netflix, which renewed the series for Season 2 and 3 just weeks after it premiered. 

ALSO READ: What we know about Avatar: The Last Airbender Season 2

Guy Ritchie's TV extension of his 2019 film The Gentlemen was a huge hit, with a whopping 75.9 million views in the first six months of 2024. Theo James stars as a man who gets caught up in the British criminal underworld after inheriting land that's part of a weed-growing empire. 

ALSO READ: More shows like Netflix's The Gentlemen

The most surprising hit of Netflix's 2024 Part 1 was Richard Gadd's Baby Reindeer, a miniseries that came out of nowhere to become the talk of Hollywood for several months and is now an Emmy winner. With 87.6 million views, Gadd's vulnerable series about his past as a victim of sexual assault and the object of a stalker's desire vaulted into the top 3. 

ALSO READ: More shows like Baby Reindeer

Apparently that mega-deal that Netflix made with Shonda Rhimes was worth it. Bridgerton Season 3 sits in as the second-most watched season of TV over the first six months of 2024, topping 91.9 million views and 733 million hours watched, more than any other show. The numbers are even more impressive considering Season 3 Part 1 was released in mid-May, followed by Part 2 in mid-June; as of September 2024, it is the sixth-most watched English language Netflix series of all time.

ALSO READ: Everything we know about Bridgerton Season 4

We love competent but not-too-complex thrillers, which is why Fool Me Once, an adaptation of Harlan Coben's novel of the same name, was the most-watched season of TV in the first half of 2024, with an astounding 107.5 million views and nearly 700 million hours logged. The eight-episode series starring Michelle Keegan as a wife looking for her missing husband may be a surprise at No. 1, but it had the advantage of being released on Jan. 1, the first day of Netflix's What We Watched report. Compare that to No. 2, Bridgerton Season 3, which was released in two parts on May 16 and June 13, and you'll see why Bridgerton already passed Fool Me Once on the all-time views list. As of the end of September 2024, Bridgerton was No. 6 on Netflix's all-time list, while Fool Me Once was No. 8.

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