Over the past 30 days, we’ve seen lots of new shows make their marks on the world’s most popular streaming platform. Jupiter’s Legacy began its 26-day run on the Top 10 charts back on May 7; The Upshaws nabbed the #1 position for six straight days; Who Killed Sara? solidified its position as a top-tier Netflix show with its second dominant run in 2021; and Lucifer returned to the charts his past week and is currently in the midst of another epic first-place streak.
But how exactly do we measure the performances of those programs against one another? Is there a metric we can use to show which shows have been the most popular in 2021?
As a matter of fact: yes. Thanks to my Top 10 formula, I’m able to use a scoring system to rank every program on Netflix. All I have to do is record where each show ranks on the Top 10 list each day and assign points accordingly. And over the course of 2021, I update the rankings.
So how does the Top 25 shape up this week? While there aren’t any newcomers to the list, we do have noteworthy movement to speak of (and a few new shows that have neared the Top 25).
As of June 5, these are the 25 most popular shows on Netflix in 2021:
- CoComelon - 894 points
- Ginny & Georgia - 465 points
- Bridgerton - 438 points
- Who Killed Sara? - 382 points
- iCarly - 359 points
- Firefly Lane - 238 points
- The Circle - 222 points
- Shadow and Bone - 208 points
- Behind Her Eyes - 199 points
- Jenni Rivera: Mariposa de Barrio - 195 points
- Good Girls - 181 points
- Jupiter’s Legacy - 176 points
- Henry Danger - 162 points
- The Baker and the Beauty - 160 points
- The Serpent - 160 points
- The Upshaws - 159 points
- Cobra Kai - 157 points
- StartUp - 153 points
- Night Stalker: The Hunt for a Serial Killer - 153 points
- Fate: The Winx Saga - 136 points
- Crime Scene: The Vanishing at the Cecil Hotel - 133 points
- The One - 118 points
- The Irregulars - 112 points
- Nicky, Ricky, Dicky & Dawn - 111 points
- L.A.’s Finest - 110 points
It’s been unbelievable to watch just how dominant CoComelon has been over the course of 2021. The children’s program has almost doubled the score of the next-closest competitor, Ginny & Georgia, and already quadrupled the score of the seventh-place series, The Circle.
A fun fact: Today marks CoComelon’s 130th consecutive day on the Top 10 charts. That streak trails—well, wouldn’t you know it—CoComelon, which had a 148-day streak that stretched between 2020 and 2021. Both of those runs far outpace the third-best streak ever (78 days) from The Queen’s Gambit. (Strangely enough, CoComelon has only held the first-place position three times during those 278 days on the Top 10 rankings.)
The only other significant movement in the Top 10 occurred when Who Killed Sara? moved from fifth place on last week’s rankings to fourth place this week. The murder/mystery has benefitted from both of its two seasons premiering in 2021, which has resulted in 51 total appearances on the Top 10 charts this year—22 of which were spent in the #1 position (that’s the fourth-most ever, by the way).
However, it seems as though the program’s second season isn’t destined for the kind of success as the first season. Who Killed Sara?’s debut slate of episodes achieved 14 showings atop the daily charts and nabbed 247 points in its first 30 days—which is currently the tenth-most ever. But the second season has only spent eight days in the top spot, and has fallen pretty far down the charts after just 16 days.
The only other notable movement came from The Upshaws and StartUp, which moved 16th and 18th place positions, respectively. And while both of those shows experienced fruitful runs in May, it’s likely that both programs will exit the Top 10 charts very soon.
On a final note, there are a few shows that seem to be on the precipice of joining this list. Jurassic Park: Camp Cretaceous is in the midst of a 21-day run on the Top 10 charts. That showing has accumulated 86 points, which is good enough for 29th place.
But the real show to watch right now is Lucifer, which has continued the success it saw on Netflix in 2020. The show has already amassed 80 points in eight days, which means it’s already on the verge of joining the Top 25 after a very short period of time. (On the all-time charts, by the way, Lucifer currently ranks in 19th place.)