The Nielsen streaming ratings for the first week of September are out, and they prove that everyone was sweeping the leg. Cobra Kai topped the charts for original series with 1.74 billion minutes viewed. However, it wasn’t the only one to top a billion minutes. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Netflix’s Devil in Ohio came in second with 1.38 billion minutes, Prime Video’s The Rings of Power came in third with 1.2 billion minutes, and HBO Max’s House of the Dragon hit the top of the “acquired series” charts with 1.02 billion minutes.
The two obvious things jump out here: first, that we were streaming, like, a ton in early September. Is everyone okay? The answer is no, but are we less okay than the normal level of Not Okay? Just checking in. Call a friend and see how they’re doing tonight, please.
Secondly, plucky little reboot Cobra Kai is king of the heap versus a slew of gargantuan-budgeted epics. Amazon spent a billion dollars on The Rings of Power, and it’s losing out to the delightful nostalgia bomb about kicking people in the face and learning personal responsibility. That’s pretty cool! Also, art isn’t a competition, and both can be excellent shows at the same time.
(via The Hollywood Reporter)