This article was republished on 8/13.
Netflix’s gambit of splitting up its more popular shows in half after their first season seems to actually be paying off in many instances. Like the first half of season 2, The Lincoln Lawyer’s second half of the season stayed on top of Netflix’s Top 10 list for essentially a full week.
What’s interesting is the show that replaced it, something I’d only heard of a few days ago, a miniseries called Painkiller that serves as a look at the horrific opioid crisis in the US. When I think of “dramas about the horrific opioid crisis in the US” I think of Hulu’s Dopesick, an unforgettable miniseries.
Now, Netflix is doing its own version with Matthew Broderick, Taylor Kitsch and Uzo Aduba. However, they appear to be doing it…worse. Dopesick had an 89% critic score and a 93% audience score. Painkiller has just a 44% critic score and a 63% audience score. That’s a wide gulf. One point of contention is that it has satirical bits that decimate the tone, and it feels like it’s trying to be like The Big Short, but for opioids, and it doesn’t really work.
Elsewhere on the list, man, the Suits success story will not end. It’s now the most-watched licensed series ever with something like 12 billion minutes consumed. But it’s also brought up even more points in the WGA/SAG strikes about residuals. One writer says that since the show went from USA reruns to Netflix streaming, her residuals went from $12,000 or so to $400. A prime example of how broken the current system is, and one that has been used as a demonstration of that to great effect.
Fisk continues to rise up the charts, which is not a Netflix original, but ported over from Australia. I don’t know much about it, but hey, it has a 100% audience score. May be worth checking out, and it’s just six, 30 minute episodes.
There’s Ladies First, a new show about women in hip hop. Heartstopper season 2 has dropped very fast down the list, never hitting number one and already down to #7. But it’s already been renewed for season 3 so that doesn’t matter. The Witcher is hanging on at #8, which again, is probably too low. All the anime series have left the list at this point, but we’ll see when they might return.
So, I’m not sure if Painkiller is a recommendation or not. Doesn’t really seem like it. As for The Lincoln Lawyer, I’m 99% sure it’s getting a season 3, and I imagine we’ll hear about that soon.
Update (8/13): We do have further movement in the Top 10 list, but without a change in the top three spots. Those remain Painkiller, Lincoln Lawyer and Suits. But now #4 is Down for Love, a reality dating series featuring people with Down Syndrome. It’s only five episodes long, and apparently takes place in New Zealand.
The only other new show on the list is Mech Cadets, a new CG animated series aimed at kids about mech pilots. One interesting thing to note is that Heartstopper is absolutely crashing down the list now. It’s passed The Witcher, which remains at #8, and it’s all the way down to #10. You really do not see shows that were performing well drop that quickly. But again, season 3 is happening no matter what, as Netflix already renewed it before this season ever aired.
I expect Painkiller to lose the #1 spot pretty soon, as it does not seem likely that word of mouth will keep it up there as it does not seem especially…good. I am still waiting for Suits to finally take the #1 spot at last, but it has never left ranks 3-5 in weeks now, making it one of Netflix’s biggest shows of the year just in terms of total time watched. One of the most successful licensed content deals they’ve ever landed, if not the most. So, when do we see Monk and Burn Notice arrive?
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