From Bridgerton to The Lincoln Lawyer to One Piece, what have been the smash hits for Netflix so far, what has performed poorly, and what has missed the mark?
Photos: Netflix
Last week, we covered the biggest hits and misses of the year so far when it comes to movies, but what about scripted series? Well, lucky you, Q1 is now over, it’s time to take a quick verdict on the year, what has been a hit, what has been a moderate hit, and what has been a complete miss. We’re starting off with just the English-language titles today before moving on to non-English series.
From returning juggernauts to some highly anticipated shows that completely failed to launch, here are the hits and misses of the first quarter of 2026.
Winners for the first quarter of 2026
When it comes to dominating the global conversation, two titles cleared the board completely.
- Bridgerton (season 4): Not surprisingly, the ton is still the talk of the town. Netflix’s strategy of splitting its biggest seasons into two parts continues to be successful. Season 4 scores a surprise 73.5 million views (Guess via NetflixandChiffres) in its first 14 days, charting in 92 countries. This is the definitive series winner of the quarter.
- His and Hers (limited series): The biggest surprise of the quarter is how big this limited series was out of the gate. collecting an incredible 59.23 million views And dominating the top 10 in 91 countries, it proved to be an absolute must-watch program and even came close to entering Netflix’s top 10 of all time, but missed out by a slim margin. Big stars + an interesting crime plot = winner.
reliable returners
One piece. Iñaki Godoy as Monkey D. Luffy in Season 2 of One Piece. Ten million. Courtesy of Netflix © 2026
Netflix’s renewal strategy largely depends on continuity, and many established franchises performed exactly as was expected of them.
- One Piece (Season 2): The live-action anime adaptation proved that Season 1 was no fluke. pull in 28.7 million views And making it into the top 10 lists of 93 countries, the Straw Hat Pirates maintained an incredibly strong global footprint, although that’s down significantly from 30% on Season 1, so it’ll be interesting to see how that evolves for Season 3.
- The Lincoln Lawyer (Season 4) and The Night Agent (Season 3): These two shows are basically the modern blueprint for Netflix’s “Dad TV” success. They produced practically identical 14-day estimates (20.7 million And 20.5 million views respectively) and both had wide global reach (83 and 90 countries). Night Agent showing significant decay; However, whether this is a symptom of it coming out of the gate so strongly with Season 1 is a different story. Both are returning for their respective fourth and fifth seasons in the near future.
- Virgin River (Season 7): Now entering its seventh season, the cozy drama continues to retain its fiercely loyal audience, keeping their health safe 16.5 million views In 66 countries. It has shown remarkably little decay, which is why it has been renewed for Season 8 ahead of schedule.
- Gabby’s Dollhouse (Season 13): One of Netflix’s most reliable children’s titles continues to deliver. With the help of the big new movie, of course, the series has remained remarkably consistent.
Solid mid-tier
Image Credit: Netflix
These limited series and newcomers put up good numbers, proving that fresh IP can still cut through the noise.
- Go away: Another big win in the limited series category, an excellent performance 30.9 million views 84 countries, although some of the former Harlan Cobain entries are notably lacking.
- Agatha Christie’s Seven Dials: British mystery, a very respectable display for security 19.89 million views And well traveled in 82 countries.
- Something very bad is about to happen: Despite being an entirely new property in horror, a particularly difficult genre for Netflix, it had strong momentum week-to-week, leading the show to predictable levels. 13.32 million views and an extensive footprint in 87 countries. Is this enough to renew? we are not sure.
- FREE BERT: arising largely from 7.93 million views It is not a disaster in a vacuum and is one of the star-driven pure comedy titles that have come out in recent years and received quick renewal.
series missed
Everything cannot be a global event. Some highly anticipated titles had incredibly slow starts, failing to achieve the viewership or global reach required to secure a definitive 14-day estimate.
- How to get to Heaven from Belfast: This is perhaps the most shocking omission of this quarter. Highly anticipated as the next project from dairy girls Creator Lisa McGee, the show fell completely flat on the global stage. It only managed to chart in 10 countries and missed the global top 10 tracking metrics altogether.
- Heartbreak High (Season 3): The Australian teen drama, which had some viral success in the past but never became a big hit, did not particularly impress in its final season. It only appeared in 29 regional top 10s and failed to generate enough viewing hours to achieve a solid 14-day peak on the global charts.
- Upshaws (Part 7) and Strip Law: Both the shows completely failed to make a splash globally. upshaws The new series remains a hyper-regional drama (almost entirely dependent on its American audience). strip law Completely missed the charts.
- Sesame Street (Volume 2) – Losing on Sesame Street feels inherently wrong, but Volume 1 actually struggled against its more modern YouTube counterparts when it launched, and Volume 2 performed even worse.
| Topic | release date | Estimated 14-day view | Countries included in top 10 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Run Away (Limited Series) | Thu, Jan 1 | 30.9M | 84 |
| Dr. Seuss’s Red Fish, Blue Fish (Season 2) | Thu, Jan 1 | N/A | N/A |
| Pokémon Horizons: Rising Hope (Season 1) | Tue, January 6 | N/A | N/A |
| His and Hers (limited series) | Fri, Jan 9 | 59.23M | 91 |
| Agatha Christie’s Seven Dials (limited series) | Thu, Jan 15 | 19.89M | 82 |
| The Upshaws (Part 7) | Thu, Jan 15 | N/A | N/A |
| Finding Her Edge (Season 1) | Thu, Jan 22 | ~14.0m | 81 |
| Free Burt (Season 1) | Thu, Jan 22 | ~7.93m | 4 |
| Bridgerton (Season 4 – Parts 1 & 2) | Thu, Jan 29 | 73.5M | 92 |
| Lincoln Lawyer (Season 4) | Thu, Feb 5 | 20.7M | 83 |
| Animal Matters (Chapter 7) | Mon, 9 Feb | N/A | 14 |
| How to Get to Heaven from Belfast (Season 1) | Thu, Feb 12 | N/A | 10 |
| The Night Agent (Season 3) | Thu, Feb 19 | 20.5M | 90 |
| Strip Law (Season 1) | Fri, 20 Feb | N/A | N/A |
| Gabi’s Dollhouse (Season 11) | Mon, March 2 | N/A | 23 |
| Vladimir (limited series) | Thu, March 5 | ~8.6m | 75 |
| Sesame Street (Volume 2) | Mon, March 9 | N/A | N/A |
| One Piece (Season 2) | Tue, March 10 | 28.7M | 93 |
| Virgin River (Season 7) | Thu, March 12 | 16.5m | 66 |
| Fatal Temptation (Season 3) | Fri, March 13 | N/A | 14 |
| Unicorn Academy: Secrets Revealed (Season 1) | Thu, March 19 | N/A | 37 |
| Pokémon Horizons: Rising Hope (Season 2) | Fri, March 20 | N/A | N/A |
| Heartbreak High (Season 3) | Wed, March 25 | N/A | 29 |
| Something Bad Is About to Happen (Season 1) | Thu, March 26 | ~13.32m | 87 |
Because Netflix reports data on a weekly Monday through Sunday basis, exact 14-day totals are calculated as estimates. We determine these by combining the first two reporting weeks and taking the daily average of week 3 to calculate the remaining days. Title marked with A [~] Point out rough estimates where only 1 or 2 weeks of official data were available.
That’s it for our analysis of 2026’s biggest hits and misses so far – have we got something wrong with our assessment? Let us know in the comments below.
