Sir David Attenborough tops Netflix's most-watched programmes

Our Planet was watched by more British subscribers to the streaming giant than any other show last month

Sir David Attenborough’s natural history series Our Planet has topped the first viewer ratings table from Netflix.

The eight-part documentary narrated by the broadcaster, 93, was watched by more British subscribers to the streaming giant than any other show last month, it was revealed today.

It headed an inaugural “top 10” chart, which has high school comedy movie The Perfect Date in second place, and crime film The Highwaymen starring Kevin Costner and Woody Harrelson in third.

Although Netflix has previously released limited audience figures on individual programmes such as the comedy-drama hit Sex Education, it has never issued a most-watched list before.

Penguins: Our Planet travelled to the frozen plains
Silverback/Netflix

The top 10 list features two other UK original productions. Ricky Gervais’s black comedy After Life was sixth, and Bear Grylls’s interactive survival series You Vs Wild, was 10th.

The overall chart was accompanied by five top 10 lists for reality programmes, films, documentaries, non-English language and series. They will be calculated and published on a weekly basis with other categories likely to be added.

Netflix, which was launched in 1997, has grown rapidly into one of the most powerful media companies in the world. It has become known for some of the most talked about and lavish productions, including The Crown, Stranger Things, House Of Cards and Narcos.

There are about 10 million Netflix subscribers in Britain out of a global total of 149 million, making the UK one of its biggest overseas markets. Subscription plans range from £5.99 to £9.99 a month.

In an exclusive interview in today’s Evening Standard, Netflix’s chief content officer Ted Sarandos revealed that his vision for the platform is to make “local stories globally”.

Gervais, who is making a second season of After Life for Netflix, said he had been “blown away” by the reaction to the show and compared the global reach of the platform to “the old days of the BBC when everyone was watching Morecambe And Wise”.

He added: “It’s been the perfect model for me. They told me, ‘We don’t interfere, we’ve got deeper pockets than anyone else and the sky’s the limit.’ If you’ve got total freedom to make your shows and 50 million people are going to watch them, that elevates the whole experience 10-fold.”

The Netflix top 10:

1. Our Planet

2. The Perfect Date

3. The Highwaymen

4. The Silence

5. Black Summer

6. After Life

7. The Spy Who Dumped Me

8. Riverdale

9. Chilling Adventures of Sabrina

10. You vs Wild

TV shows to watch in 2019

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