The Queen's Gambit hit Netflix in October, and the show has become a smash-hit, enjoying the best opening month for any scripted limited series on the service. Netflix shared in a tweet that The Queen's Gambit was viewed by 62 million accounts in its first 28 days, a record for the service.
The series, which stars Anya Taylor-Joy as a young chess superstar named Beth Harmon who battles personal demons as she climbs the ladder of international professional chess in Cold War-era America, hit the number 1 rank on Netflix in 63 countries, and ranked in the top 10 in 92.
A record-setting 62 million households chose to watch The Queen’s Gambit in its first 28 days, making it Netflix's biggest scripted limited series to date. pic.twitter.com/TVC3p4i5Bv
— Netflix (@netflix) November 23, 2020
It's worth noting that Netflix changed how it measures viewer numbers in late 2019, so this technically means that 62 million accounts started The Queen's Gambit and watched at least 2 minutes of an episode. However, the first two minutes of the show are pretty compelling, so there's a good chance many people stuck with it.
The "limited series" designation is for shows that are not designed to be an on-going narrative--while a second season can receive a follow-up season, it will usually wrap up neatly with a conclusion. Other examples of limited series on Netflix include Godless (also from The Queen's Gambit director Scott Frank), Unbelievable, and Alias Grace.
The overall top show on the service remains The Witcher, which managed an astonishing 76 million views in its first month. Tiger King racked up 66 million.
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