When the (probably non-existent) Entertainment sections of history books look back on the summer of 2023, they will first tell of an ambitious double-feature known as Barbenheimer that reignited a faltering box office. Then, in an eye-catching subsection, they will talk about how Canada was on fire, so everyone stayed inside and watched an old USA Network lawyer drama called Suits.
The show has set another streaming record for acquired series in its fourth consecutive frame in the latest round of Nielsen ranking data, boosted by a presence on both Netflix and Peacock (via The Hollywood Reporter).
Last month, Nielsen reported that Suits set a streaming record across Netflix and Peacock, racking up 3.1 billion minutes viewed. The following week, Suits set a new record of 3.7 billion minutes viewed, a 17 percent increase from the previous frame.
The show dropped a hair in its third week, accounting for 3.67 billion minutes viewed. However, against all odds and good reason, the series has surged again — amassing 3.88 billion minutes viewed for the week of July 17-23. Over all four weeks, Suits has been the most-watched streaming show recorded by Nielsen.
What is going on? No one knows.
The public is always invested in Suits star Meghan Markle, but her time before she was the Duchess of Sussex is hardly as exciting as now, when she and Prince Harry are so dramatically untethered to British Summer Time (which is a real time zone!). Maybe people are nostalgic for 2011, the year that Suits began airing. But that was also the year of the “Pumped Up Kicks” craze, and that song hasn’t aged well at all (because it’s bad!).
We’re gonna stick with our theory that people don’t want to go outside. It’s only getting hotter.
