The last time Netflix released a documentary series focusing on Ancient Egypt – which wasn’t all that long ago at all – it sparked an international incident, let to furious outcries, and was review-bombed into oblivion as the streamer’s worst-rated original series on Rotten Tomatoes. Thankfully, Unknown: Lost Pyramid has so far avoided a similar fate.
It’s an entirely different beast to the contentious Queen Cleopatra, though, with the first installment in the four-part event focusing on a pair of renowned Egyptologists seeking out ancient treasures long thought lost to the world. The forgotten burial pyramid of an ancient king and a tomb dwelling with an ancient necropolis are the MacGuffins of choice, but you’ll have to stick around and see if the duo come up trumps.
That’s exactly what subscribers have been doing anyway, with FlixPatrol revealing The Lost Pyramid as the second most-watched feature-length exclusive on the global viewership charts behind only the insurmountable Extraction 2, with the doc having snaffled a Top 10 position in 45 countries around the world.
The remaining three chapters will “push the boundaries of knowledge, venture into unexplored regions, and unlock the secrets of our world” according to the official synopsis, and it would appear that audiences are incredibly keen to find out what happens next. History is still big business – at least when it’s not pissing people off as Netflix has discovered in the recent past – so we can expect the next trio of Unknown adventures to do precisely the same as the kickoff and become one of the most in-demand offerings on the entire content library.