Using data from Flix Patrol and Open Movie Database, we’ll break down the most popular Netflix TV shows and movies streamed during 2021. We’ll also give you our quick, spoiler-free opinions on this year’s top TV shows and movies to help you decide what to watch next on Netflix. Let’s check out America’s favorite Netflix TV shows and movies of 2021! Now that we’ve talked about Netflix as a whole, let’s break TV shows and movies into separate groups for a better comparison.
68.4% of TV titles appearing in the top 10 were Netflix Originals TV shows with the most consecutive #1 days: Despite Squid Game’s massive hype, the foreign language phenomenon only came in third, spending 24 straight days at the top of the list. It was beaten by the daughter-mother team of Ginny & Georgia and the passengers of Manifest. Getting hooked on the drama, laughing, and finding justice: The most popular TV genres were drama (20.7%), comedy (12.8%), and crime (9.5%). Neither bios nor musicals were big in 2021: Most folks would rather commit to a season’s worth of a non-musical or fictional series. The least popular genres were: biography (0.7%), musicals (0.9%), and shorts (1.0%).
It makes sense that parents might return to their kids’ favorite flicks or TV shows repeatedly as an easy distraction and then seek more substantive TV series on their own time. And hey—if they can love the same shows or movies as their kids, all the better.
If you were to watch every single movie that appeared in the Netflix Top 10 this year, it would take you 577 hours (that’s 24 days)! Movies with the most consecutive #1 days: Flicks like The Mitchells vs. the Machines and Red Notice stayed at #1 for nearly two weeks each, but most movies can only hang in the top spot for about a week. Most popular movie genres: We love getting wrapped up in plots and emotions, having a good laugh, and munching popcorn while the action’s packed. Dramas make up 17% of our favorite shows, while comedy and action follow behind, at 13.4% and 12.3%, respectively. Least popular movie genres: Americans are 70 times more likely to watch a drama than a western. Also, reality TV hasn’t become too big in the movie world (most people seem to prefer keeping up with the gossip every week). And war only made four appearances in the top 10 (maybe that’s a good thing?)
The five-hit list includes the sweethearts from Twilight: Taylor Lautner, Kristen, Stewart, and Robert Pattinson. CoComelon uses music to help kids read and learn about a variety of topics. With exciting hits like “The Bath Song (Baby Shark)” or “Yes Yes Vegetables” paired with vibrant animation, parents can rest assured the kids will stay entertained. (Just make sure to switch it up, so you don’t get the songs stuck in your head forever.) After a plane and all its passengers go missing during a flight, they show up years later as if no time has passed at all. Audiences will enjoy guessing at the secrets surrounding supernatural events. If you’re looking for an intriguing blend of mystery, thriller, and sci-fi/fantasy, Manifest has you covered. The South Korean drama is a beautiful but intense depiction of debtors playing childhood games to win large sums of money, with deadly consequences for losing. The cast delivers heartfelt performances, the cinematography is thoughtful and wrought with profound images, and it’s an absolute thrill until the end. This mother-daughter drama show has fun moments that come with heavier subjects—but it has received criticism for mishandling controversial topics like racism, sexism, and abuse. With season two, we’ll see if Ginny & Georgia can better claim its status as the next generation’s Gilmore Girls-—without the cringe. A drama set in the Regency Era of London, Bridgerton follows a high-society family’s struggle to keep it classy. This is your show if you’re a fan of English accents and spicy romance. For those looking to pick up the child-like charm of their youth, the new iCarly is far from a kid’s show. Catering to an aging Millennial audience, the show boasts random humor and character jokes that still could hit home for some folks. For others, it’s a series that’s best remembered rather than rebooted. Inspired by a memoir, Maid: Hard Work, Low Pay, and a Mother’s Will to Survive, the show follows a single mother’s enduring efforts to give herself and her daughter a better life. It’s not without its happy moments of resilience and a subtle sense of humor, but it often leaves you feeling devastated. Following superstar Jenni Rivera’s autobiography Unbreakable (and unpublished testimonies), this inspiring and emotional story recounts the singer’s life as she struggles during and after her rise to fame. Following the singer’s death in 2012, this is a must-watch for fans of the singer or those who love a raw, real, and memorable biography. Álex Guzmán spent 18 years wrongly imprisoned for killing his sister, Sara, but he’s determined to find the real killer and exact his revenge. If you like detective-style storytelling, sexy secrets, and hazy flashbacks, this fun show can keep you guessing. The Circle pits players in a real-life social media setting where they must message each other, play games, and try to figure out who’s being honest and who’s posing as a catfish (a fake profile). As far as reality TV goes, there’s something strange but sweet about this show. For families looking for a fun animated film akin to Toy Story, The Secret Life of Pets 2 provides the laughs. It also explores emotional, mental, and behavioral health through pets’ eyes. The show delivers silly bits for kids and a few nostalgic musical moments for parents. A fun film for preschoolers, this animated alien invasion flick is full of colors and sounds to keep them endlessly entertained. However, older kids and adults probably won’t stay tuned in for long. A thrill for everyone, The Mitchells vs. the Machines characters feel real, emotional, and authentic compared to some of their more cartoonish counterparts. The humor flows fast and free when a road trip meets the robot apocalypse, but the heartfelt scenes take time to breathe and let you process some emotions. This film is for families who enjoyed Robert Rodriguez’s Spy Kids or Shark Boy and Lava Girl’s-brand of superhero stories. It may not be as awe-inspiring for fans of Rodriguez’s more mature movies, but who can pass up a Pedro Pascal performance? Following the delivery of a long-lost love song, Vivo is an aesthetically-pleasing animated story of love, music, and adventure. Fans of Lin-Manuel Miranda will enjoy this family-oriented flick filled with toe-tapping tunes. My Little Pony: A New Generation has been well-received by younger and older fans who enjoy its fun, poppy attitude and heartwarming messages. If you still have the commercial jingle in your head from when you were a kid, you might be curious how the new generation fares for your family. Trouble may be an easy, one-time watch with your kids in a world full of animated movies with talking dogs. However, it doesn’t quite have the charm of other family favorites. Some folks might find getting through the movie more trouble than it’s worth. John Cho voices a wish-granting dragon who guides young Din, the film’s protagonist, to realize what really matters in life. While it may draw comparisons to Aladdin, Wish Dragon brings a new take on the old tale that younger audiences can enjoy. Madagascar’s third installment delivers another round of fun for the whole family. For fans of the previous movies, the zany adventure will keep you entertained and engaged as you sit with your creature comforts. The only movie in the top 10 lineup geared towards adults, this zombie-outbreak movie comes with a Las Vegas heist twist. Depending on how much you like Zach Snyder movies, you could either be disappointed or surprised by Army of the Dead. Between original content and TV shows and more movies licensed from third parties, we expect 2022 to be even better for us binge-watchers. If you’re looking for even more shows to stream or need a better internet connection for all that HD glory, we’ve got you covered:
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How does 2021’s Netflix Playback Report stack up against 2020? Check out last year’s results below. Additional data about each title was collected from the Open Movie Database. As we looked ahead to 2021’s streaming roster, we dug into the data surrounding Netflix’s top TV shows and movies in 2020 to create our Netflix Playback Report. Michael Scott and the rest of The Office crew spent 189 days in Netflix’s top 10. Even though The Office ran from 2005-2013, the show remained a nostalgic favorite for many Americans in 2020. Last year, we all needed those go-to shows—the shows that work whether you’re glued to the screen, browsing social media on the couch, or doing chores around the house. The Queen’s Gambit premiered on October 23rd and spent 70 days of 2020 in the top 10. Who knew we all loved chess so much? Rounding out the top three is a tie between Ratched, a drama series that follows an asylum nurse, and The Umbrella Academy, which follows a diverse and dysfunctional group of sibling superheroes. A lot of us enjoyed delving into a bit of darkness to help us process 2020. That said, we ranked Netflix as the best streaming service for kids. The rest of the list features comedy actors such as Kevin James, Anna Faris, and Will Ferrell. A few classic stars round out the list, like Bruce Willis, Gary Oldman, Mark Wahlberg, Jamie Foxx, and James Caan. The burning question is, which actors would you like to see more of in 2021? Additionally, Reviews.org surveyed 316,174 Americans to determine their streaming habits and which streaming services they use. We used this data to determine the percentage of persons with a Netflix account, and the amount of time spent watching the service throughout the year.
