Well, it’s that time. The Waterfront had its run on top of Netflix’s top 10 list, but now it’s been capsized by a show that it was never going to be able to escape.
That, of course, is the return of Squid Game for its third and allegedly final season. Squid Game season 1 remains the most-watched season of any show in Netflix history. Squid Game season 2 is inside the top 5. I expect season 3 will probably top 2, and now it’s arrived with a six-episode finale run. There was a zero percent chance it wouldn’t arrive at #1, and here we are.
The Waterfront has had a solid run since its debut, starting at #1 and continuing until this dethroning that was always going to happen. If Squid Game did not show up, I imagine it would have remained in that spot for some time. It’s a great start for the series that is angling for a second season, and as I’ve said before, I absolutely believe that will happen as Netflix looks to fill the water-based crime series hole left by Bloodline and Ozark, both of which ran for multiple seasons. It’s only a matter of time until we hear the same for The Waterfront.
Squid Game? It’s shown up with slightly better critic scores than season 2 but worse audience scores, dropping from a 61% to a lower 53%. I’m only halfway through, but I’m not sure why. Episode 2 was easily one of the best entries in the entire series. Again, this is the final season, but its creator has a clear idea for a spin-off that takes place between seasons 1 and 2 and has not ruled out a potential sequel either, he says.
The rest of the list has Ginny and Georgia performing extremely well, given how long ago it aired. It was already renewed for a fourth season ages ago, so there is no waiting around for that news. America’s Sweethearts: The Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders series seems to be one of Netflix’s more popular reality series these days, and I can’t imagine why. Expect it to return.
Two licensed shows are doing well, Animal Kingdom and Blindspot, which arrive with six seasons and five seasons, respectively, for viewers to chew through.
The question now is how long will Squid Game season 3 stay on top. If it’s any less than two weeks, I’d be a bit surprised, as Netflix has cleared its release slate for a while for this reason. But this is the least amount of episodes a season has had, so that means viewers will finish more quickly. We will keep an eye on it.
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Pick up my sci-fi novels the Herokiller series and The Earthborn Trilogy.
