‘Queen Charlotte’ Opens at No. 1 on Nielsen Streaming Chart

Netflix’s Bridgerton prequel had a big opening — one that also boosted interest in its parent show.

Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story debuted at No. 1 in Nielsen’s streaming rankings for May 1-7. The six-episode prequel, which premiered May 4, had 1.89 billion minutes of viewing in the United States for the week, easily outpacing every other title. Nielsen also notes that viewing for Bridgerton tripled for the week, coming in at 125 million minutes (though well outside the top 10 original series).

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The 1.89 billion minutes of viewing for Queen Charlotte is equal to 31.47 million hours, a little over 20 percent of the worldwide total (148.28 million hours) that Netflix reported for the show’s opening week (Nielsen and Netflix use different methodologies for their measurement, so the Nielsen figure is a rough estimate of how much of the show’s audience came from the U.S.).

The previous week’s top title, Netflix’s The Diplomat, slid to ninth overall (and fifth among original series), with 711 million minutes of watch time. Firefly Lane stayed in second place, improving by about 13 percent week to week to 1.25 billion minutes. Sweet Tooth grew by 16 percent and also crossed the billion-minute mark with 1.07 billion minutes of viewing.

Apple TV+’s Ted Lasso came down some from the prior week’s series high but still posted a strong 715 million minutes of viewing. The Mandalorian (319 million minutes) also hung in the top 10 originals list two weeks after its third season finale on Disney+. The Netflix debut of the Tom Hanks film A Man Called Otto delivered 879 million minutes of viewing, easily leading the movie rankings and finishing fourth among all titles.

Nielsen’s streaming ratings cover viewing on TV sets only and don’t include minutes watched on computers or mobile devices. The ratings only measure U.S. audiences, not those in other countries. The top streaming titles for May 1-7 are below.

Overall

1. Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story (Netflix), 1.89 billion minutes viewed
2. Firefly Lane (Netflix), 1.25 billion
3. Sweet Tooth (Netflix), 1.07 billion
4. A Man Called Otto (Netflix), 879 million
5. Cocomelon (Netflix), 759 million
6. NCIS (Netflix/Paramount+), 722 million
7. Bluey (Disney+), 719 million
8. Ted Lasso (Apple TV+), 715 million
9. The Diplomat (Netflix), 711 million
10. Better Call Saul (Netflix), 673 million

Original Series

1. Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story, 1.89 billion minutes
2. Firefly Lane, 1.25 billion
3. Sweet Tooth, 1.07 billion
4. Ted Lasso, 715 million
5. The Diplomat, 711 million
6. Workin’ Moms (Netflix), 579 million
7. The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (Prime Video), 416 million
8. The Night Agent (Netflix), 410 million
9. The Mandalorian (Disney+), 319 million
10. Beef (Netflix), 309 million

Acquired Series

1. Cocomelon, 759 million minutes
2. NCIS, 722 million
3. Bluey, 719 million
4. Better Call Saul, 673 million
5. The Big Bang Theory (HBO Max), 638 million
6. Shameless (Netflix), 557 million
7. Grey’s Anatomy (Netflix), 515 million
8. Succession (HBO Max), 501 million
9. South Park (HBO Max), 473 million
10. Heartland (Netflix/Peacock), 448 million

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