Well, I don’t usually have to do two of these back to back, and maybe I shouldn’t even bother, but after knocking The Witcher’s second half off the top spot for a day, Sweet Magnolias has dipped back down to third.
No, it’s not The Witcher that’s resurfaced, as it’s down to #4. Rather, two returning shows are leading. The first is the second half of The Lincoln Lawyer, with the final four episodes of season 2, part of Netflix’s “lets chop all the good shows in half” strategy. Number two is the return of Heartstopper, the much-beloved but little-watched romance series between two teen boys.
Heartstopper initially felt like it would be one of those series that has incredible reviews, but since not enough people watched it, Netflix would likely kill it before a second season. This was the rare event that did not happen. Heartstopper wasn’t just well-reviewed, it’s actually one of Netflix’s best reviewed series ever, both critically and by fans. Season 2 yet again has a perfect 100% score from 30 critics so far and a 98% fan score. These are just wild, wild numbers for Netflix, and we just do not see this more than once every few years or so, at best.
Hearstopper debuted at #2 is way better than season 1. I’m not even sure that I saw the first season land on the top 10 chart at all. It’s frankly a miracle it survived, but sometimes a show is so good that viewership gets some allowances. But now it may be good and more widely watched. Other top-reviewed shows like Teenage Bounty Hunters, Tuca and Bertie and The Babysitter’s Club were not so lucky.
While I think Heartstopper is the main story here (not shocked the return of Lincoln Lawyer is #1), the rest of the list isn’t quite as interesting. Suits retains its hold on Netflix, and I think it just hit something like a billion minutes watched across the eight seasons Netflix just got their hands on. The rest of the list is essentially unchanged since yesterday, with just the order shuffled around a bit. Quarterback, formerly #1, is still hanging on at the very end of the top 10 here.
I would be curious to see if once people make their way through the four new Lincoln Lawyers, if Heartstopper can actually hit #1. Already with this performance, and the likely fact that this show is pretty cheap, I am much more optimistic about its renewal for season 3 than I was about season 1. And one interesting fact, Joe Locke is allegedly joining the MCU as Wiccan, Scarlet Witch’s son, in Agatha’s Coven of Chaos series, and may be a larger part of the universe to come.
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