Suits Just Broke A Major Streaming Record Held By A Surprising Netflix Series
These days, Netflix is mainly known for its original TV shows and movies. However, when the streaming platform was getting off the ground, it was a service that could introduce properties to a whole new audience. Now, the platform has helped another show reach a new audience with the monumental success of "Suits."
The legal drama ran on USA Network from 2011 to 2019, but ever since it arrived on Netflix in June 2023, people have been eating it up. "Suits" is also available on Peacock and Prime Video, but Netflix is where it's taken off. In fact, "Suits" just broke a Nielsen record, according to Deadline. Based on Nielsen streaming data, "Suits" has held the top spot for 12 weeks, surpassing Netflix's "Ozark" in terms of most first-place finishes overall. It's even more impressive considering "Ozark" held the top spot at various points across its four-season run, whereas "Suits" beat it within the 12 weeks since it arrived on the streaming service.
Granted, "Suits" does have some advantages in its favor. With nine seasons at its disposal, there are simply more minutes for people to watch compared to the lower episode counts of some other series in the Top 10. Additionally, data is pulled from every streamer, so Nielsen considers data from both Netflix and Peacock, meaning more people in total can find it. Still, it's a testament to how there aren't shows like "Suits" anymore, and every streamer could learn a lesson on offering higher episode counts and not canceling every show after two seasons.
Longer, more established series are doing well on Nielsen at the moment
The current Nielsen ratings are for the week from September 4 to September 10, with some interesting trends to note. The top three is rounded out with two Netflix original series, namely "Virgin River," which recently launched Season 5, and "One Piece," based on a popular manga and anime. However, the rest of the list is predominantly occupied by shows that came from cable television and continue to be watched on streaming.
Some notable entries on the most recent Nielsen ratings list are "S.W.A.T.," "Bluey," "Grey's Anatomy," "NCIS," and "The Big Bang Theory." All of these series started on cable and have well over 100 episodes apiece (in the case of "Grey's Anatomy" and "NCIS," there are over 400 episodes each). They rank high because there are more total minutes to choose from, but people clearly like having shows they can binge-watch ad nauseam. It can take days or weeks to binge-watch some of these series, allowing them to enter the top of the charts. And people would probably prefer to partake in comfort viewing than try to watch something with 16 episodes that ends on a cliffhanger with no resolution.
"Suits" fits this bill perfectly. People can spend time with these characters for a lengthy period and really get to know and enjoy them. Plus, it doesn't hurt that Meghan Markle married Prince Harry and became a member of the British royal family, likely adding to viewers' intrigue and making them wonder what she was up to prior to that union. Streamers could learn a valuable lesson in all this by investing in shows that may not achieve "Stranger Things"-level ratings but are nonetheless solid performers that audiences can grow with.