“The Queen’s Gambit” has paid off for Netflix. The limited series is the first program to three-peat atop Nielsen’s list of the Top 10 streaming programs.
From Nov. 9 through Nov. 15, “The Queen’s Gambit” had 1.373 billion minutes viewed, according to Nielsen. The prior week, it had 1.455 billion minutes viewed.
In its first week at No. 1 on Nielsen’s streaming chart, the series had 1.850 billion minutes viewed. (The week prior, the one-season limited series ranked 10th with 550 million minutes viewed — and that only really counted its opening weekend.)
All of this with just seven episodes. “The Office” was runner-up each of those weeks.
Netflix has released some numbers for “The Queen’s Gambit.” According to the streaming service, 62 million households watched the series within its first 28 days of availability, making it Netflix’s most-watch scripted limited series ever.
At the time, “The Queen’s Gambit” was on Netflix’s Top 10 list in 92 different countries and was the top show in 63 countries, including the U.K., Argentina, Israel and South Africa.
“Tiger King,” which is unscripted, had 64 million households tune in within its first four weeks. Netflix counts a view whenever a user watches at least two uninterrupted minutes of a show or movie.
“The Queen’s Gambit” is a coming-of-age story that explores the true cost of genius. Abandoned and entrusted to a Kentucky orphanage in the late 1950s, a young Beth Harmon (Anya Taylor-Joy) discovers an astonishing talent for chess while developing an addiction to tranquilizers provided by the state as a sedative for children. Haunted by her personal demons and fueled by a cocktail of narcotics and obsession, Beth transforms into an impressively skilled and glamorous outcast while determined to conquer the traditional boundaries established in the male-dominated world of competitive chess.
The miniseries is based on Walter Tevis’ 1983 novel of the same name.
“The Queen’s Gambit” launched on Netflix on Oct. 23.