‘The Queen’s Gambit’ Ranks As Netflix’s Most Watched Limited Series

Netflix reports that its limited series The Queen’s Gambit has scored 62M households, becoming their most watched limited series to date in its first 28 days. The series starring Anya Taylor-Joy has been consumed Russia and Hong Kong, to France, Taiwan and Australia. The show made the Top 10 in 92 countries and ranked No. 1 in 63 countries, including the UK, Argentina, Israel, and South Africa. The seven-episode series from Scott Frank debuted on the streamer on Oct. 23.

Peter Friedlander, VP of Netflix Original Series made the details known about the limited series’ success in a blog post today.

“Three years ago when Scott Frank (Godless) first approached us about adapting The Queen’s Gambit – Walter Tevis’ 1983 book about a young chess prodigy – we felt it was a compelling tale. Beth is an underdog who faces addiction, loss and abandonment. Her success – against the odds- speaks to the importance of perseverance, family, and finding, and staying true to, yourself. However, I don’t think any of us could have predicted that The Queen’s Gambit – and the extraordinary Anya Taylor-Joy – would become the global phenomena they are today, or our biggest limited scripted series ever,” wrote Friedlander.

The Queen’s Gambit follows Beth Harmon, an orphan-turned-chess prodigy who learns the game from the janitor in her orphanage played by Bill Camp. Against all odds during the late 1950s to 1960s, she rises from becoming a state Kentucky champ to taking on the biggest global male Russian chess champs in the world. During her journey she battles an addiction to tranquilizers provided by the state as a sedative for the children. Haunted by her personal demons and fueled by a cocktail of narcotics and obsession, Beth transforms into an impressively skilled and glamorous outcast while determined to conquer the traditional boundaries established in the male-dominated world of competitive chess.

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