The Queen’s Gambit is breaking records. Netflix announced that the drama is the streamer’s most watched scripted limited series of all time, surpassing all other Netflix originals according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Netflix reported that the limited series was watched by sixty-two million members spanning across the world within the first 28 days of the show’s premiere. The way in which Netflix counts the amount of viewers watching is if the member tunes in for at least the first two minutes. The series also made it into the top ten list of the most watched series on Netflix throughout ninety-two countries.
The Queen’s Gambit was originally a novel written by Walter Tevis in 1983. Scott Frank (Godless) adapted the novel into a Netflix original limited series and served as a writer and director for the entire series. It stars Anya Taylor-Joy (Split) as Beth, a chess prodigy who also battles addiction in 1960s America. It also features Bill Camp (The Leftovers), Harry Melling (Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone) and Thomas Brodie-Sangster (Godless) in supporting roles.
Detailing a woman’s rise in the ranks throughout the chess world while dealing with the oppressive patriarchal structure at the time, the show was an instant success with praise coming from critics and fans alike. Vice President of original series at Netflix Peter Friedlander told The Hollywood Reporter why he believed The Queen’s Gambit became such a universal success: “What Scott executed was phenomenal in terms of the precision of the craft, and yet at the heart of it all is this incredible character, played by the incomparable Anya Taylor-Joy…Her underdog journey is what I think people are really connecting with. She had challenges every step of the way, and yet she’s this incredibly determined, unique and unapologetic in approaching life and who she is and who she wants to be. I think people responded to rooting for her against all these odds. There were also other elements — the nostalgic feeling of traveling back in time and the escapist quality of that. At the same time it’s a real sports story too. You’re rooting for someone to win.”
In response to the recent news of the viewership records, Frank released a statement picked up by The Hollywood Reporter on The Queen’s Gambit becoming the most watched Netflix original limited series of all time: “I am both delighted and dazed by the response. It’s just all way beyond what any of us could have imagined…But speaking for my fellow producers and the entire cast and crew of the show, every one of whom made me look better than I actually am, we are most grateful that so many took the time to watch our show.”
In addition to Frank, Taylor-Joy also posted on Instagram to celebrate the news. She thanked the viewers of the show in addition to sharing an image of her getting ready to put on the wig she wears while playing Beth. Sharing how many people have watched the series across ninety-two countries, she also posted that The Queen’s Gambit has re-entered the New York Times Bestsellers list after over thirty years.
See the post in it’s entirety below: