Netflix (NFLX)’s latest breakout series, “Bridgerton,” has been officially renewed for season 2 – and it could not come at a more perfect time.
The news, released Thursday, was not surprising given the huge success of the series. In fact, ‘Bridgerton’ is Netflix’s premiere so far, with 63 million households watching at least part of the show in the first four weeks, according to the company. (Warning: Netflix counts a “viewer” as someone who watches at least 2 minutes of a piece of content.)
The hit serves as creator Shonda Rhimes’ first show for Netflix, after he left a $ 100 million deal with streaming giant ABC (DIS) in 2017.
Filming is expected to resume in the UK this spring, although one of the biggest challenges is filming amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Recent restrictions have made it quite difficult to shoot more intimate scenes – which has now become a viral staple of the drama series.
In addition to steamy scenes, “Bridgerton” also relies on hundreds of extras to help create the show’s festive ballroom parties – another well-known event that could be jeopardized due to COVID-19.
The renewal nonetheless underscores Netflix’s impressive commitment to content, which it plans to roll out quickly. Earlier this month, the platform announced that it will be releasing an original film every week in 2021, and just this week, subscriber growth estimates in its quarterly earnings report shattered.
Stickers like “Malcom & Marie” starring Zendaya and John David Washington have already received an Oscar edition; while others like ‘Don’t Look Up’ highlight the platform’s ability to approach A-list talent with a cast that includes Leonardo DiCaprio, Jennifer Lawrence, Jonah Hill, Meryl Streep and more.
But despite all the series and movies that will hit the platform in 2021, Netflix still suffered a huge loss after saying goodbye to its number one series, The Office, on January 1st. According to Nielsen’s streaming list, there were almost 1.3 billion viewing minutes in all 192 episodes between December 7 and 13 – making it the best program on all platforms.
The ‘Dunder Mifflin’ classic is now live from rival Peacock (CMCSA) and actually sees more viewers on the service compared to Netflix, according to new data from ReelGood, a streaming hub app that offers more than 300 services in one place .
Among 2 million Reelgood users, the share of ‘The Office’ rose from 9 to 7 January to 9.2%, making both ‘Bridgerton’ and ‘The Mandalorian’ the top 100 most viewed on the Reelgood list for the week TV shows occupy.
In addition, the number of Reelgood users with a Peacock Free subscription grew by 17% during the week of January 8 in the week of December 25, while those who had a Peacock Premium account grew by 5% within the same period. has.
The data suggests that ‘The Office’ could be a general manager for users streaming to the platform – and another example of things heating up in an already competitive streaming battle.
Alexandra is a producer and entertainment correspondent at Yahoo Finance. Follow her on Twitter @ alliecanal8193
Read more: