Inside the Ratings: ‘Adolescence’ Shattered Netflix Records and Cracked the Code on UK Limited Series

“Adolescence” just shattered a Netflix record to become the streamer’s most-watched limited series in its first two weeks, but its massive success falls right into place with Netflix’s lineup of other buzzy projects from the U.K.

“Adolescence” debuted to 24.3 million views in the first four days from its launch March 13 through March 16, making it by far the most-watched TV series during the week of March 10 (the No. 2 title on the list was “Running Point” with just 6 million views). Viewership for “Adolescence” grew a whopping 72.8% to reach 42 million views — a level of engagement not seen from Netflix’s English-language TV programs since the Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson fight, which scored 46.6 million views during the week of Nov. 11, 2024.

With 66.3 million views in just two weeks, “Adolescence” has surpassed the cumulative viewership for “Baby Reindeer” over its first four weeks on the streamer. By comparison, “Baby Reindeer” debuted to just 2.6 million views before growing to 13.3 million views in its second week before peaking at 22 million views in its third week on the platform.

While “Baby Reindeer” took time to find its audience — which later led to critical praise and awards accolades — it’s likely the series helped set the stage for audiences to look out for hard-hitting British dramas like “Adolescence,” which is already creating some awards chatter. Plus, it certainly helps that “Adolescence” is only four episodes, promising to be a quicker binge than the seven episodes in “Baby Reindeer” or other eight- or 10-episode series. And in the U.K., “Adolescence” is also making a ratings splash by becoming the first streaming show to dominate Britain’s weekly TV ratings, according to Barb.

Even with “Baby Reindeer” taking a moment to find its stride, ratings-wise, Netflix has a solid trend of successful British limited series, with adaptations of Harlan Coben’s “Fool Me Once” and “Missing You” generating impressive viewership for the streamer as the shows debuted at the start of 2024 and 2025, respectively.

“Fool Me Once” debuted to 37.1 million views before tallying up a cumulative 61 million views in its first two weeks, while “Missing You” debuted to 21.7 million views in its first week and went on to garner 36.9 million views in its first two weeks. Though “Black Doves” will return for a second season, it builds on the British mystery drama trend as well, with the Kiera Knightley-led show making a name for itself with 25.4 million views in its first two weeks.

“Fool Me Once” went on to enter Netflix’s all-time most-watched English-language TV series, where it currently sits at No. 8 with 98.2 million views. With 66.3 million views in just two weeks, “Adolescence” could be on track to reach the Netflix all-time top 10 list, should it surpass “Bridgerton” Season 2 at No. 10 with 93.8 million views. But the question remains: Will the momentum for “Adolescence” continue?

“SNL50” and NBC live programming make a splash

After “SNL50: The Anniversary Special” proved to be a ratings success for NBCUniversal with 15 million viewers across NBC and Peacock when it aired live on Feb. 16, the anniversary special boosted “SNL” to its first appearance on the Nielsen streaming charts. “SNL” was the No. 7 most-watched streaming program on the overall Nielsen top 10 list, and the No. 3 program on the acquired list for the week of Feb. 17 with 863 million viewing minutes.

“SNL50,” which also boosted ratings for “SNL” this season and for its adjacent programming, marked a major win for NBC’s live programming, whose lineup also includes the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, which most recently marched off with its biggest audience ever: 31.3 million viewers across all platforms.

NBC also built this live programming success with its “Opry 100: A Live Celebration,” which scored 5.3 million viewers across NBC and Peacock as it aired live on March 19, TheWrap revealed exclusively. The event, which was hosted by Blake Shelton, ranked as Wednesday night’s most-watched program among the broadcast networks, which largely aired original programming.

March Madness shoots and scores

The men’s NCAA tournament is off to a strong start, with the first two rounds averaging the biggest audience the tournament has seen since 1993. According to Nielsen, 9.4 million viewers on average tuned in for each game across CBS, TNT, TBS and truTV. The 2025 March Madness games also rank as the most-watched round of 32 since 2017.

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