Proving once again the global appeal of Netflix's locally produced TV shows and movies, new Korean revenge thriller series The Glory, which was released on Netflix globally all the way back on Dec. 30, emerged as the platform's biggest show for the week of March 6-12, garnering nearly 125 million viewing hours worldwide. 

Starring Song Hye-Kyo as a young women bent on avenging the former classmates who bullied her as a child, the Korean-language series ranked No. 1 across Asia in its first few weeks on the Netflix platform, leading Netflix's non-English-language TV category for the week of January 2-8 with 82.5 million streaming hours globally. 

The Dec. 30 release was for the first batch of eight first-season episodes, and viewership seems to have been largely confined to Asia and peaked out in early February. 

Last Friday, Netflix released episodes Nos. 9-16, and The Glory seems to have caught fire, ranking high not only in Asia, but across Europe and Latin America, as well. It was the No. 1 show in Mexico, Peru and El Salvador, for example. 

Viewers in Netflix's biggest region, the U.S. and Canada, haven't caught on yet, but if and when they do, Netflix will have its biggest local language hit since Korea's Squid Game back in 2021. 

Meanwhile, among English-language programming, back in early February, Next TV wrote that the season 4 premiere audience numbers for voyeuristic drama series You were off by 30% over season 3's debut. 

We got that one wrong. 

We didn't notice that for season 4 of the Penn Badgley series, Netflix had staggered the final five episodes to drop on March 9, rendering our comparative analysis between seasons three and four somewhat moot. Netflix got that "30%" viewing discrepancy back ... and probably then some. 

With that second segment dropping last Thursday, You re-emerged on the charts, finishing as the No. 1 English language program for March 6-12 with 75.8 million viewing hours. 

Conspiracy-minded documentary series MH370: The Plane That Disappeared finished second among English-language TV shows with nearly 60 million viewing hours. 

And among Netflix films, Luther: The Fallen Sun, the movie extension of the UK TV series led by Idris Elba and his titular DCI John Luther, finished No. 1 with nearly 66 million streaming hours. 

Season 4 of Netflix original series You generated just over 92 million hours of streaming in its first three days of release, a 30% viewership decline from the season 3 debut of the Penn Badgley drama in October 2021. 

You: Season 4, which stars Badgley as a charming young man who takes perhaps too intense of an interest in strangers, still led all Netflix series and movies for the week of February 6-12. 

You did generate some significant catch-up viewing, with season 1 ranking No. 4 on Netflix’s English-language series chart with 19.2 million viewing hours, and season 3 coming in ninth with 11.4 million streaming hours. 

In what was a lackluster audience week overall for Netflix, romcom film Your Place or Mine pairing Reese Witherspoon with Ashton Kutcher ranked No. 2 overall, generating an underwhelming 51.2 million streaming hours in its first three days on Netflix. 

Netflix‘s psychological drama series You highlights a light week of original show premieres during the week heading into Super Bowl LVII.

You returns for its fourth season February 9 and once again follows the exploits bookstore manager turned professor Joe Goldberg, played by Penn Badgley, who travels to London under a new alias but suffering from the same obsessive and murderous impulses, according to Netflix. The first of two parts for season four debuts February 9, with the second half premiering March 9, according to the streamer. 

Below are video trailers and premiere dates for multiple shows debuting the week of February 6 to February 12 on cable networks and streaming services (for some videos, viewer discretion is advised):

February 7: History's Greatest Heists With Pierce Brosnan (documentary), History

February 7: All That Breathes (documentary), HBO

February 8: Bill Russell: Legend (sports documentary), Netflix

February 9: Stolen Youth: Inside the Cult at Sarah Lawrence (documentary), Hulu

February 10: Marvel’s Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur (animation), Disney Channel

February 10: Somebody I Used To Know (movie), Prime Video

February 10: Your Place or Mine (movie), Netflix 

Season four of psychological thriller series You premieres on Netflix February 9. Based on Caroline Kepnes’s novel of the same name, the show looks at a man with an unhealthy fixation on women. There are 10 episodes. 

Penn Badgley, Tati Gabrielle, Charlotte Ritchie, Lukas Gage, Ed Speleers are in the cast. Badgley portrays Joe, a charming guy who becomes obsessed with various women, and shows a penchant for murdering those who stand in the way of him bonding with those women. 

Season one was set in New York and season two in Los Angeles. Season three was in the California suburbs, and season four heads to London. “Turns out teaching’s fun, and London’s not so bad,” Joe says. 

You premiered on Lifetime in 2018 and drew lackluster ratings. Netflix picked it up for season two.

“A dangerously charming, intensely obsessive young man goes to extreme measures to insert himself into the lives of those he is transfixed by,” is how Netflix describes the show. 

Sera Gamble and Greg Berlanti developed You, and Gamble is the showrunner. 

Berlanti and Gamble executive produce with Gina Girolamo, Leslie Morgenstein, Sarah Schechter and Michael Foley. ■

After four weeks of being No.1 on Nielsen's weekly top 10 ranking of the most watched shows in U.S. subscription streaming, Netflix's Korean-language series Squid Game dropped to the No. 2 spot for the week of Oct. 18-24.

Exactly one month after Squid Game’s Sept. 17 premiere, the dystopian-themed show garnered 1.938 billion viewing minutes across nine episodes. That opened the door for a solid Season 3 debut for Netflix psychological thriller You, which attracted 2.254 billion viewing minutes for the week ending Oct. 24.

Starring Penn Badgley as a charming but intense and obsessive young man, You premiered its third campaign on Oct. 15 and finished second to Squid Game with 1.938 billion viewing minutes for the week ending Oct. 17. 

On Wednesday, Netflix announced final first-28-day global performance metrics for Squid Game, using a new “hours-viewed” metric, similar to Nielsen’s “minutes-viewed” format. The series attracted 1.65 billion viewing hours in its first four weeks of release in 90 countries. The previous record holder was the first season of Shonda Rhimes period drama Bridgerton, which commanded 625 million viewing hours on Netflix in its first four weeks. 

Meanwhile, another Netflix original, Maid, finished third and in the top 10 for the fourth straight week, with the domestic-servant-themed freshman series garnering 865 million viewing minutes across 10 installments.

And speaking of still more Netflix originals, the second season debut of Locke and Key on Oct. 22 helped the supernatural horror show capture 637 million viewing minutes, putting it in the No. 6 spot among all shows for the week ending Oct. 24. Locke and Key was renewed for a third season in Dec. 2020.

There were no non-Netflix shows in the top 10, original or otherwise. But on Nielsen's sub-ranking of original SVOD productions, the season finale of Hulu's Only Murders in the Building saw its week-over-week viewership perk up nearly 22% to 386 million minutes.

And Apple TV Plus' Ted Lasso, which ended its second season on Oct. 8, still had enough juice for the week of Oct. 18-24 to finish ninth among all originals with 291 million viewing minutes. 

Six acquired Netflix series—Shameless, Cocomelon, The Blacklist, Seinfeld, NCIS and In the Dark took the remaining spots on Nielsen's weekly top 10 SVOD chart. 

Shameless, starring William H. Macy as alcoholic patriarch Frank Gallagher, captured 851 million viewing minutes across all 134 series episodes available on Netflix. The show, like the week prior, took the No. 4 spot.

The gift that keeps on giving, MoonBug Entertainment’s animated kids series Cocomelon,  snagged the fifth spot on Nielsen’s SVOD top 10 chart with 748 million streaming minutes

In the Dark, a CW show about a blind woman seeking justice, finished in seventh place. The third season of the drama premiered on Netflix on Oct. 14. The series has been streaming on the streaming service since July 2019.

Seinfeld, a former Hulu on-demand selection took in 595 million viewing minutes across 166 episodes to finish eighth.

The Blacklist, licensed from producer Universal Television and starring James Spader, garnered 586 million viewing minutes putting the show that consists of 169 episodes in the No. 9 spot. The eighth season of The Blacklist debuted on Netflix on Oct. 6. 

Coming in at No. 10 was CBS procedural NCIS with 540 million minutes. 

No movies made the main top 10 ranking this week, but Disney Plus continued to dominate the sub-ranking of SVOD films, with Marvel title Black Widow finishing first with 269 million viewing minutes.

Previous Weekly Rankings:

Oct. 11-17: Netflix Rules with Off-Net Power, as 'Shameless,' 'Cocomelon,' 'The Blacklist,' 'Seinfeld' and 'NCIS' Fill the Top 10

Oct. 4-10: Not for Nothin', But a Show That Left Broadcast TV 23 Years Ago Just Cracked the Top 10

Sept. 27 - Oct. 3: Netflix’s ‘Squid Game’ Is the First Show to Garner 3 Billion or More Viewing Minutes in the Post-Pandemic Era

Sept. 20-26: Apple TV Plus’ ‘Ted Lasso’ Is a Surprise Top 10 Entry, While Netflix’s ‘Squid Game’ Is the Totally Unsurprising No. 1 Finisher

Sept. 12-19: Netflix Phenom ‘Squid Game’ Got Off to a Surprisingly Slow Start

Sept. 6-11: Netflix’s ‘Clickbait’ Holds Off Surging ‘Lucifer’

August 30 - Sept. 5: Netflix’s 'Clickbait' Steals Audience Traffic From 'Manifest'

August 23-29: Netflix’s 'Manifest' Soars Back to No. 1 with the Debut of Season 3

August 16-22: Netflix’s ’Outer Banks’ Loses 37% of Its Audience, Still Finishes No. 1

August 9-15: Netflix’s Scrappy ‘Outer Banks’ Maintains the No. 1 Spot

August 2-8: Netflix's ‘Outer Banks’ Surpasses 2.1 Billion Viewing Minutes

July 26 - August 1: Netflix's 'All American' Edges 'Outer Banks' for No. 1

July 19-25: Netflix’s ‘Virgin River’ Maintains the No. 1 Spot

July 12-18: Netflix’s ‘Virgin River’ Ends Five-Week ‘Manifest’ Winning Streak

July 5-11: #SaveManifest Movement Picks Up Steam as Netflix Series Becomes the Most Watched SVOD Show for 5th Straight Week

June 28-July 4: Amazon’s $200 Million Bet on Paramount’s ‘The Tomorrow War’ Pays Off

June 21-27: ‘Manifest’ Continues Series Saving Flight Plan on Netflix

June 14-20: Netflix’s ‘Manifest’ Scores the Year’s Biggest SVOD Audience So Far

June 7-13: Netflix’s ‘Sweet Tooth’ Shows Bite for the Week of June 7-13

May 31-June 6: Netflix’s ‘Lucifer’ Bedevils SVOD’s Biggest Audience Since Season 3 of 'Cobra Kai’ Debuted in January

May 24-30: Netflix’s ‘Lucifer’ Has SVOD’s Biggest Week* Since ‘Coming 2 America’ Debuted in Early-March

May  17-23: Zack Snyder’s ‘Army of the Dead’ on Netflix Leads a Rather Lifeless Week for the U.S. Streaming Biz

May 10-16: ‘Jupiter’s Legacy’ Not Good Enough For Netflix to Renew, But Strong Enough to Lead the Week of May 10-16

May 3-9: Netflix’s $100 Million Bet on Sony’s ‘The Mitchells vs. The Machines’ Pays Off

April 26 - May 2: Netflix’s ‘Shadow and Bone’ Edges Hulu’s ‘Handmade’s Tale' in Rebound Week for the Streaming Biz

April 19-25: Netflix’s ‘NCIS’ Off-net Run Wins Another ‘Easttown and Down' Week for the U.S. SVOD Biz

April 12-18: Disney Plus’ ‘The Falcon and the Winter Soldier’ Builds to 855 Million Streaming Minutes and a No. 1 Finish

April 5-11: Give Netflix's 'Thunder Force' Five for Winning the Week of April 5-11

March 29 - April 4: Netflix’s ‘The Irregulars’ Tops the Easter Week Charts

March 22-28: - 'Falcon and Winter Soldier' Tops SVOD Originals

March 15-21: - 'Grey's Anatomy' Re-Runs Top SVOD Ranker

March 8-14: - ‘The Crown’ Got Royal Gains from Meghan’s Big Oprah Interview

March 1-7: - Amazon Tops the Charts for the First Time with ‘Coming 2 America’

Feb 22-28: - Netflix’s 'Ginny & Georgia' Leads the SVOD Biz

Season three of psychological drama You is on Netflix Oct. 15, and Netflix has ordered a fourth season. Sera Gamble and Greg Berlanti created the show, about a man who picks certain women to obsess over, and goes to considerable lengths to stalk them. 

The series, starring Penn Badgley, is based on the novels You and Hidden Bodies by Caroline Kepnes. 

Season four will be produced by Berlanti Productions and Alloy Entertainment in association with Warner Bros. Television. Berlanti, Gamble, Sarah Schechter, Leslie Morgenstein, David Madden, Gina Girolamo, John Scott, Neil Reynolds, Michael Foley and Justin Lo are executive producers and Gamble runs the show.

"Reading Caroline's novel, Greg and I were instantly obsessed with Joe Goldberg and his twisted world view,” said Gamble. “And it's been thrilling to watch Penn bring Joe to creepy yet compelling life. We're deeply grateful that Netflix has shown You such monumental support, and that people around the world have enjoyed watching Joe really get it all very wrong over the past three seasons. The whole You team is excited to explore new, dark facets of love in season four.”

Season three sees Joe and Love married and raising a baby in Northern California. “Joe is committed to his new role as a husband and dad but fears Love’s lethal impulsiveness,” goes the Netflix description. “And then there’s his heart. Could the woman he’s been searching for all this time live right next door? Breaking out of a cage in a basement is one thing. But the prison of a picture-perfect marriage to a woman who’s wise to your tricks? Well, that’ll prove a much more complicated escape.”

You premiered on Lifetime in 2018 but was cancelled after one season. 

Like many well-received shows during the pandemic, Flack, with Anna Paquin as a PR doyenne tasked with cleaning up the messes of high-profile clients, was dropped by its network, Pop TV. Season two was in the can, but as Pop TV changed its programming strategy in the wake of the merger of parent ViacomCBS, the series was canceled.

Unlike most orphaned series, Flack, offering a heady mix of drama and comedy, has found a new home. Season one, with six episodes, starts Jan. 22 on Amazon Prime Video and season two will stream later this year.

Creator Oliver Lansley mentioned an overwhelming sense of gratification when Amazon Prime got on board with Flack. “More than anything, it was relief,” he said from England. “The idea of spending a year making a series, and the whole thing not being seen by anyone, is devastating.”

Also Read: New ‘Flack’ Home Suits Star Paquin

One Network at a Time

Shows that have found new networks after cancellation, including One Day at a Time, The Expanse and Lucifer, have been a mixed bag, some getting a number of additional seasons at their new homes, others getting just one. Landing on a second network hardly ensures a series will suddenly become a smash, but at least it offers that opportunity. “You should always be excited that you have another chance,” said Neal Baer, who was showrunner on Designated Survivor after it shifted to Netflix following the political drama’s cancellation by ABC. “If you have a chance again, you’re way beyond where other shows are when they get canceled. Embrace it.”

Designated Survivor with Kiefer Sutherland got one season on Netflix in 2019 before it was canceled again. Mindy Kaling comedy The Mindy Project had three seasons on Hulu after its first three seasons on Fox. Sci-fi drama The Expanse did three seasons on Syfy before shifting to Amazon Prime Video in 2019. Season five is streaming now, and Amazon ordered a sixth and final season. Cop comedy Brooklyn Nine-Nine had five seasons on Fox before getting picked up on NBC in 2019. 

While Netflix is often the network that rescues orphaned series, it canceled comedy One Day at a Time after three seasons in 2019, with the show then doing one more season at Pop TV.

Busted Pilot: ‘Flack’ Finds a Home, ‘The Flight Attendant’ Flies High, ‘All American’ Back to School

Other series that have found new networks after cancellation include Longmire, Tuca & Bertie, Last Man Standing, Mr. Mercedes and You. Cobra Kai, for one, got off to a strong start at Netflix this month after two seasons on YouTube. “No one cared about it on YouTube, and everyone’s talking about it on Netflix,” said Old Dominion University assistant professor of communications Myles McNutt. 

Amazon Prime has not committed to new seasons of Flack, but will stream the two seasons produced while at Pop TV. “As with any of these decisions, we’ll be looking to our customers to guide our decision here,” said Brad Beale, VP of worldwide content licensing, Amazon Prime Video, “and we’re optimistic we can bring in existing fans of the series and build a new audience for it.” 

‘Prime’ Time

Flack’s search for a new home was relatively smooth, according to Lansley, who described Amazon Prime as “our first port of call” after the show’s cancellation. 

Beale said Flack fits right in with other Amazon originals. “When we first watched Flack, we were very excited about giving this show a second chance, as we believe our customers will gravitate to and appreciate this unique dark comedy,” he said. “We look at Flack as an excellent complement to our existing slate of curated series and expect it to be highly bingeable, given the performances of the amazing cast and timeliness of the themes. It touches on the complexities of modern life, where problems can go viral an instant.”

With COVID causing all sorts of production headaches, including significant budgetary dings, having a season in the can available for acquisition is more enticing to a number of networks than starting series production from day one. And the pandemic has pushed streaming to the television norm among viewers, making the major digital platforms such as Netflix, Amazon and Hulu a more-desired destination for many producers. “If you’re not playing in that arena, it’s a lot harder for your things to get seen,” Paquin said. 

Airing on a streaming platform also gives the producers more creative leeway than they typically find on broadcast and basic cable. For Neal Baer, it meant bolder stories on Designated Survivor than the show had done on ABC. 

“We got to tell very controversial, socially relevant stories,” he said. “There was no holding back on content. There’s a freedom on streaming that is really compelling for a lot of writers.”

Broadcast networks answer to advertisers and the FCC. “They don’t love controversy,” added Baer. 

Streaming also allows for a deeper dive into a complicated character, such as Paquin’s PR ace Robyn. “There’s much more appetite for more complex and deeper emotional and psychological portrayal of a character,” said Linda Ong, co-founder and CEO of cultural consultancy Cultique, “as opposed to it being more plot-driven.”

Amazon vs. Netflix

Amazon Prime Video does not have the same robust brand for original content that Netflix does, say some cultural pundits. A Nielsen study of the top 10 streaming original series in 2020 had nine Netflix shows and one from Disney Plus. McNutt said Netflix does an effective job of “naturalizing” a series — taking a show it has either picked up after cancellation or one that is licensed from another network, and getting viewers to think of it as native to Netflix. How many young viewers of Friends or Schitt’s Creek, for example, think of them as Netflix originals?

“The rebrand that Netflix does, Amazon cannot do,” McNutt said. “Amazon has never had that brand identity. Netflix can rebrand a show and no other network has successfully accomplished that.”

The Netflix brand is all about watching television, said Ong, while Amazon is about buying books, toilet paper and antacid, and watching television. Still, “don’t underestimate the ability of Amazon Prime to bring in an audience,” she said. 

In a 500-scripted-show universe, having a popular streaming platform “curate” an off-the-radar program, in Ong’s words, can give the series a serious boost. “It’s a seal of approval in a sea of content,” she said. “Consumers think, if it’s on Netflix, it must be good.”

She added, “The Amazon brand has less cachet, but it still does have cachet.”

‘Flack’ Attack

Season two of Flack has aired in the U.K. on the network W, and Paquin said it was “well received.” The second season’s edgy appeal may get a similar reaction in the U.S. “I do think that people are sick of the BS,” Paquin said. “Seeing the dark underbelly as opposed to the smoke and mirrors might appeal to people even more.”

Ong believes Flack has a decent chance of breaking out on its new network. “With the right marketing and the right algorithm, if the content is good and unique and differentiated, I think there’s huge potential,” she said. 

With Amazon Prime’s history of biting comedies featuring strong female leads such as Fleabag and Catastrophe, Oliver Lansley said it feels like the proper place for Flack. “We feel like we’ve found our spiritual home,” he said. “We hope it fits well with its compatriots.”

Kent Gibbons and Michael Malone talk about TCA Winter Press Tour, FX on Hulu, Fargo on FX...and Netflix, You on Netflix, and more.

Kent Gibbons and Michael Malone talk about TCA Winter Press Tour, FX on Hulu, Fargo on FX...and Netflix, You on Netflix, and more.

Netflix has ordered a third season of original drama You, the drama that was cancelled by Lifetime Network after one season in 2018, but has found unlikely hit status in subscription streaming. 

Co-created by Greg Berlanti, and based on a best-selling novel by Caroline Kepnes, You follows the strange, voyeuristic relationships of Joe Goldberg, played by Penn Badgley. (We'll just give you Netflix's description of You: “A dangerously charming, intensely obsessive young man goes to extreme measures to insert himself into the lives of those he is transfixed by.")

“We are grateful to our partners at @netflix and @warnerbros for the endless support.... and most of all, we are grateful to every one of you freaky voyeurs for watching. See you soon, neighbor,” wrote series co-creator and executive producer Sera Gamble on Twitter earlier this morning. 

The series is produced by Berlanti Productions, Alloy Entertainment, Warner Horizon Scripted Television and A+E Studios. The 10-episode second season, which was shot entirely for Netflix, debuted last month. Season three will hit the SVOD service in 2021.

It originally premiered on basic cable in July 2018, “But it didn’t work on Lifetime,” conceded Amy Baker, executive VP of strategy and insights for A+E Networks, speaking at CES last week. 

Since that time, You has become the top scripted series on Netflix, Baker said.

Netflix has only confirmed that You ranked No. 5 in popularity among its series last year. 

Drama You, which had a lackluster first season on Lifetime before turning into a hit on Netflix, has begun season two on the streaming platform. There are ten episodes. 

The new season was made available on Netflix Dec. 26. 

Penn Badgley, Elizabeth Lail and Victoria Pedretti star. Badgley plays a Manhattan book shop staffer with an obsessive streak. 

“A dangerously charming, intensely obsessive young man goes to extreme measures to insert himself into the lives of those he is transfixed by,” goes the Netflix description. 

Caroline Kepnes wrote the novel that the series comes from. The Greg Berlanti/Sera Gamble show debuted on Lifetime in September 2018. Despite good reviews, it didn’t garner enough viewers to continue on the network. Getting substantial viewership after it premiered on Netflix, the streamer greenlit season two for the soapy thriller. 

Warner Horizon Television produces You. 

The Christmas holiday period will feature several new and returning series, specials and movies, led by FX’s original film A Christmas Carol.

A Christmas Carol, an adaptation of Charles Dickens’ classic holiday story that stars Guy Pearce as Ebenezer Scrooge, premieres on FX Dec. 19.

Below are video trailers and premiere dates for several shows debuting this week on cable networks and streaming services (for some videos, viewer discretion is advised):

Dec. 20 -- Togo (Drama series) -- Disney+

Dec. 20 -- The Witcher (drama/fantasy) -- Netflix

Dec. 24 -- Lost In Space (returning series) -- Netflix

Dec. 26 -- You (returning series) -- Netflix

Dec. 27 -- Duran Duran: There’s Something You Should Know (documentary) -- Showtime  

Dec. 27 -- Into the Dark: Midnight Kiss (horror) -- Hulu 

Dec. 27 -- New Order: Decades (documentary) -- Showtime

Dec. 29 -- Dare Me (drama) -- USA Network

The 2018-19 broadcast TV season officially launches next week as ABC, NBC, CBS, Fox and the CW begin rolling out shiny, new scripted shows as well as new episodes of returning hit series.

In years past, cable networks looking to launch new original programming avoided the months of September and October like the plague for fear that their shows would drown amid the high level of marketing and promotional noise generated by the broadcast networks.

This year however, shows like FX’s Mayans M.C., a sequel to the network's popular Sons Of Anarchy series; USA Network’s The Purge, a takeoff on the popular movie franchise of the same name; and Lifetime’s social media/romance thriller You have all debuted after Labor Day, weeks before the broadcasters could get high-profile new shows like The Conners, The Cool Kids, F. B. I., Magnum P.I., Manifest, A Million Little Things and Murphy Brown in front of viewers.

“Back in the day cable used to make a name for itself in the summer when the broadcast networks weren’t doing much (original programming), and they gained alot of traction,” said Marc Berman, editor of TV industry website Programming Insider. “The way the industry works now its a 12-month business … you can no longer sit and hold [new content] back because the broadcast networks traditionally put most of their new shows out in September.”

So far, viewers haven’t waited for the new broadcast shows to get a taste of new fall programming:

--Mayans M.C. drew 4.6 million viewers on a Nielsen live +3 basis for its Sept. 4 premiere, a 64% increase over the 2008 premiere of its predecessor Sons Of Anarchy. The series also drew the most viewers in key Adult 25-54, Adult 18-49 and adult 18-34 demos than any other new cable series premiere this year, according to FX.

--BET’s The Bobby Brown Story miniseries drew a combined 4.6 million viewers across its Sept. 4-5 premiere telecasts, the most viewers the network has drawn for a scripted program since the January 2017 The New Edition Story mini-series.

--The Purge scared up more than 1.3 million viewers for its Sept. 4 premiere, making it one of the network’s highest show premieres of the year.

Lifetime executive vice president of movies, limited series and acquisitions Tanya Lopez says the September launch of You offered an opportunity to grab and hopefully lock in viewers before the new broadcast series shows premiered. 

You's’ Sept. 9 premiere drew 4.4 million viewers on a Nielsen Live +3 ratings basis, and has reached more than 9.2 million total viewers across all telecasts, according to the network.

“This gives Lifetime several weeks to establish a loyal audience for You as the series only continues to get better and more addictive as the season progresses,” Lopez said. “We’re in a sweet spot of catching audiences who are returning from their summer vacations, settling back into their lives and watching TV. It’s a fantastic opportunity to catch these viewers before the fall promotion hits full steam.”

With several cable and streaming services set to launch high-profile scripted series over the next few weeks -- including FX's Mr. Inbetween, Crackle's Us & Them, Hulu's Into The Dark, and Amazon's The Romanoffs, its abundantly clear that the fall months are no longer the exclusive purview of the broadcast networks to launch new scripted content.   

Lifetime has renewed its upcoming drama series You more than a month before the show officially premieres on the network, Lifetime announced during its Television Critics Association summer press tour Thursday.

The series, based on Caroline Kepnes’ best-selling novel of the same name, stars Penn Badgley as a bookstore manager who becomes obsessed with one of his customers (Elizabeth Lail). You premieres on Lifetime Sept. 9.

In other Lifetime TCA news, the network has signed Good Morning America co-host Robin Roberts to a production deal that will include a series of movies and documentaries set to debut in 2019 under the banner Robin Roberts Presents, the network said.

The deal is part of Lifetime’s commitment to produce 75 original movies in 2019, according to Lifetime executive vice president of movies, limited series and original movie acquisitions Tonya Lopez.

Among the movies slated for the network include Seven Deadly Sins, produced by Bishop T.D. Jakes and based on the book series by Victoria Christopher Murray; Somebody’ Someone: The Regina Louise Story, based on a memoir about a young African-American girl who navigated over 30 foster homes and psychiatric facilities before age 18 and the one woman who believed in her; and V.C. Andrews’ Heaven, a five movie series based on the Casteel series from writer V.C. Andrews.