More than ever this year, given that we spent much of the past 12 months locked indoors, folks around the world have been glued to Netflix, lapping up the countless new titles that the streaming giant has delivered. In particular, this was a great year for the platform’s TV output, with many of the original shows going viral. But which ones were the most popular of 2020?
As we near the end of the year, we can now calculate the top five most viewed TV series on Netflix and the following list has been curated based on FlixPatrol, who keep track of what’s trending on streaming and VOD around the world. And as of December 28th, these are the five most popular shows on the platform this year:
- The Queen’s Gambit – FlixPatrol Global Score: 43,265
- Emily in Paris – FlixPatrol Global Score: 27, 143
- Lucifer – FlixPatrol Global Score: 25,969
- The Umbrella Academy – FlixPatrol Global Score: 23,443
- Money Heist – FlixPatrol Global Score: 22,535
If you were to guess which series would be on this list, you might have got it right, as these five are some of the most talked about Netflix original shows of 2020, so it makes sense that they’re the most watched, too. Season 4 of Spanish drama Money Heist released just as the pandemic first took effect and it arrived at the perfect time to be binged, while The Umbrella Academy season 2 was coming off the back of a hugely successful first run. As such, it’s unsurprising that it managed to snag fourth place.
Lucifer, meanwhile, aired its second Netflix season – and fifth overall – this fall and yet again it paid off for the streamer, as the former FOX comic book series sits as the third most popular show of the year. And in second place, we have Emily in Paris starring Lily Collins, which provided some much needed romantic escapism this summer.
Last but not least, The Queen’s Gambit takes the top spot. The drama, featuring Anya Taylor-Joy as a chess prodigy who aims to rise to the top of her field while battling personal demons, caught the internet alight a couple of months ago, so we all knew that it was going to claim number one. And as for the rest of the Netflix Top 10, it includes Spanish drama Dark Desire (#6), The Crown (#7), Friends (#8), Columbian series Yo soy Betty, la fea (#9) and Ratched (#10).
