In terms of Netflix limited series biopics, deranged cannibalistic serial killers from Milwaukee may be even more provocative to global audiences than fake German heiresses.
The first four days of Dahmer - Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story produced an impressive 196.2 million streaming hours on Netflix’s global platform, besting the debut performance of Inventing Anna back in February. The Shonda Rhimes-produced biopic, focused on convicted grifter Anna Duvay, debuted on February 11 and yielded a three-day performance of 70.3 million hours for the week of Feb. 7-13.
Inventing Anna went on to have major legs, garnering 196 million viewing hours the following full week, and it ultimately became the seventh most viewed English-language TV series on Netflix over its first 28 days with 511.9 million streaming hours. Star Jennifer Garner was nominated for an Emmy for playing the title role.
Dahmer’s even-better performance over a comparable debut period suggests big things for Netflix’s latest limited-series effort, which was co-produced by Ryan Murphy and stars Evan Peters in the title role as the psycho killer whose murderous spree made global headlines in the early 1990s. Molly Ringwald and Richard Jenkins play his stepmother and father.
Other Netflix series, notably Bridgerton: Season 2 and Stranger Things: Season 4 have produced bigger debut audiences on Netflix this year, but Dahmer’s first-week total certainly stands out.
Meanwhile, season 2 of Nickelodeon series reboot Fate: The Winks Drama grew its audience in its second week, finishing with nearly 61 million streaming hours.
Season 5 of Cobra Kai, meanwhile, dropped like Johnny Lawrence at the All Valley, losing nearly two-thirds of its audience in week 3 and finishing with only 38.1 million streaming hours.
Finally, The Crown continued to surge on interest in the British royal family, with the first two seasons both finishing in the top 10 once again on the English TV-series ranker with a combined 43.2 million streaming hours. ▪️
