Netflix’s ‘Queen Charlotte’ Rules the Most-Watched Rankings | Charts
Royals ruled this week’s most-watched programs. Netflix’s “Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story” topped streaming’s most-watched list as the coronation of King Charles III also garnered huge audiences.
For the week of May 3-9, Netflix’s new “Bridgerton” spin-off took the No. 1 spot on the streaming leaderboard, according to the latest Wrap Report — which tracks the most-watched programs across streaming and linear TV, according to viewership trends collected from Samba TV’s panel of more than 3 million households drawn from over 25 million connected TVs, balanced to the U.S. Census. In an impressive sweep, all six episodes of the Shonda Rhimes-produced prequel to Netflix’s hit series “Bridgerton” topped this week’s leaderboard in its debut week.
The coronation of Charles III and Camilla also amassed a sizable live television audience in the U.S., with 11.7 million households tuning into select broadcast and cable news networks including: CBS, NBC, ABC and CNN despite the early morning hours (5 a.m. – 10 a.m. ET). Across the pond, total TV viewership on Coronation Day marked the highest it has been of any day this year to date. Yet, total TV viewership that day was 4% lower than the day of the ceremonial events marking Queen Elizabeth’s funeral last year.
While the once-in-a-lifetime historical event ushering in a new monarch drew an impressive amount of buzz over the weekend, the British monarchy’s appeal among younger audiences may be waning as millennial audiences in the U.S. under-indexed based on viewership of the coronation itself, while over-indexing by double digits on “Queen Charlotte.” Meanwhile, older generations (adults aged 65-74 years old) embraced the historic event live on television, over-indexing by nearly 25% relative to the average U.S. household. However, this same audience comprised of adults aged 65-74, under-indexed on scripted series “Queen Charlotte.” Yet the real-life events in London and the “Bridgerton” universe did have some audience crossover. Almost one in five U.S. households that watched the new Netflix series tuned into the coronation live, while that number more than doubled in the U.K.
Back on the streaming charts this week, Apple TV+’s biggest hit, “Ted Lasso” scored again at the no. 6 spot, while Amazon’s Prime Video series “The Citadel” captured no. 8. French Netflix original action thriller film “AKA” notched its second consecutive week on the most-watched streaming list, coming in at No. 9 and the season finale of “Firefly Lane” rounded out the top 10 spots.
On broadcast TV, ABC’s “American Idol” secured the No. 1 telecast of the week. The reality singing competition may have also gotten a timely boost from the royal buzz surrounding coronation week events. “Idol” judges Katy Perry and Lionel Richie were across the pond headlining the celebratory Coronation Day concert, and joined the rest of the “Idol” cast live from inside the Windsor Castle. During the program, King Charles and Queen Camilla also made a cameo appearance, much to the surprise of Perry and Richie.
NBC’s “The Voice” came in second this week as teams Kelly Clarkson and Niall Horan faced off. Two of NBC’s beloved One Chicago franchise shows, “Chicago Med” and “Chicago Fire,” landed near the top of the linear rankings, while scripted dramas “FBI,” “FBI: International,” and “NCIS” on CBS also joined the ranks.
ABC’s “Jeopardy! Masters” scored a daily double with both airings of the tournament played by six of the show’s all-time best players securing two of the top-watched linear programs.
Meredith Brace is the chief marketing officer at Samba TV, a WrapPRO partner. Click here for more data and analysis from Samba TV.
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