Netflix's YOU has managed to knock Squid Game off the top spot of the Nielsen streaming charts after a month-long stint for the Korean survival drama. YOU stars Gossip Girl alumni Penn Badgley as stalker and serial killer Joe Goldberg as he internally monologues his obsession with his love interests while he manipulates them into relationships with him. The series, which is based on the Caroline Kepnes novel of the same name, debuted its third season in October to a stellar reception.
The third season of YOU sees Joe attempt to settle into suburban life with his wife, Love, and their newborn baby. Despite trying to make (another) go at leading a normal life, Joe quickly settles back into the role as the unreliable, delusional narrator and stalker, with things quickly taking a murderous turn for the newlyweds. Even though the enormous success of YOU is hard to understate, the show has seemingly evaded the radar of Fox News' Laura Ingraham, who recently found herself in a hilarious debate after some confusion surrounding the show's name.
With the popularity of the show only increasing, YOU has finally managed to topple Squid Game at the top of the Nielsen streaming charts. As reported by Deadline, YOU received approximately 2.7 billion minutes of viewing, compared to Squid Game's 1.3 billion minutes of viewing. Both shows' success further reflects on Netflix's grip on the market, as 8 out of 10 of the shows on the Nielsen streaming charts are titles for the streaming giant.
Regardless of YOU's success, Squid Game's figures are far from paltry, with the show still pulling fantastic figures for Netflix, despite originally airing over two months ago. With the show something of a surprise hit, there's always the chance Squid Game will head back to the top of the charts, as word-of-mouth plays a large part in advertising the brilliance of the survival thriller. Nielsen ratings are also only based on TV screenings, with mobile viewing not counted, so the true testament to Squid Game's viral success remains unknown.
Only time will tell if YOU can hold the top spot over the coming weeks, with streaming services ramping up the releases for the festive period. Prime Video's upcoming The Wheel of Time adaption is already being touted as the next Game of Thrones, and Hawkeye is mere days away from arriving on Disney+. Still, it's unlikely Netflix is too concerned with the success of their properties, especially as both Squid Game and YOU have already been renewed for future seasons, but only time will tell if both shows will continue to dominate the Nielsen streaming charts as their competition looks to close in on Netflix's territory.
Source: Deadline