Netflix series ‘The Queen’s Gambit’ breaks viewership records

The Queen’s Gambit has become Netflix’s most-watched scripted limited series to date. Since its premiere, it has gained the viewership of 62 million households.

Netflix took to Twitter to share this news with the netizens:

The streaming giant followed it with some “fun facts” like “How to Play Chess” on Google searches has hit a nine-year peak and the conversation around the web series has led to a significantly higher interest in next year’s World Chess Championship.

Starring Anya Taylor-Joy, Bill Camp, Marielle Heller, Thomas Brodie-Sangster, and Harry Melling, The Queen’s Gambit is an American coming-of-age period drama miniseries based on Walter Tevis’s 1983 novel of the same name.

Its popularity has resulted in a corresponding interest in the novel, with the latter having entered The New York Times bestseller list again, 37 years after its release.

Set in the 1960s, the story revolves around an orphaned chess prodigy – Beth Harmon (portrayed by Taylor-Joy) – who is on her way to becoming the world’s greatest chess player. But she is not without her baggage, which includes navigating issues of emotional attachment stemming from her childhood and drug addiction.

Created by Scott Frank (Logan, Godless) and Allan Scott (Regeneration), the seven-episode web series has made it to the top 10 most-watched in 92 countries, with it being ranked first in 63, including the UK, Argentina, Israel, and South Africa, according to Netflix.

The Queen’s Gambit even got a 100% score on Rotten Tomatoes, which is said to be a trusted measurement of critical recommendation for millions of fans, based on the opinions of hundreds of film and television critics.

With Garry Kasparov – Russian Grandmaster and former World Chess Champion – having been consulted for the series, The Queen’s Gambit promises thrilling chess matches which have been shot in a way so as to get even non-players interested in the game.

But, for Netflix’s claim of viewership, it has not provided any references as to how it has reached that particular figure and seeing that the streamer’s series have no independent ratings, one cannot be sure of the authenticity of the numbers that it has shared on its social media channels.


Also Read: Riding With Sugar: South African coming-of-age drama on Netflix

More from The Envoy Web