David Farnor | On 03, Jan 2020

The Disappearance of Madeleine McCann was the most-watched Netflix UK title in 2019, according to the streaming giant.

Netflix has always been tight-lipped about its viewing figures, but has begun to release a growing number of statistics in recent months, as the VOD service positions itself – and its original content – as popular among viewers, as it braces for increasing competition from rivals. With the new year underway, Netflix has now revealed a list of 2019’s most-watched titles.

The figures should, of course, be taken with a hefty pinch of salt. They are based on the number of UK accounts that have watched two minutes or more during its first 28 days on release, which is much shorter than its typical 70-per-cent-or-more viewing metric. If that doesn’t give much of a reliable indicator on actual viewing behaviour, it perhaps gives us a picture of the kind of titles with the highest volume of buzz and audience attention to attract initial curiousity views.

Given the high-profile nature of the case, it is perhaps unsurprising that The Disappearance of Madeleine McCann is the most watched series of the year in the UK. It leads the pack ahead of Michael Bay’s 6 Underground, Adam Sandler and Jennifer Aniston’s Murder Mystery, which broke Netflix records when it was released earlier this year, fantasy epic The Witcher and Martin Scorsese’s The Irishman.

With The Witcher’s success as a video game and the established persona of Ricky Gervais – whose After Life is sixth in the UK chart – Netflix’s most popular original titles tend to have built-in audiences, with Our Planet catering to David Attenborough fans and Stranger Things 3 continuing a flagship franchise. Sex Education’s performance, then, is notable, as it ranks in ninth place.

Equally notable, however, is the absence of The Crown from the list, despite it consistently enjoying awards success. It is also absent from Netflix’s list of most popular scripted series in 2019, which is headed up by The Witcher and also features The Umbrella Academy (fifth), You (sixth), Unbelievable (seventh), Top Boy (eighth), Black Mirror (ninth) and Dirty John (tenth).

Here are the rankings (via Deadline):

Top Netflix releases in 2019:

1. The Disappearance of Madeleine McCann
2. 6 Underground
3. Murder Mystery
4. The Witcher
5. The Irishman
6. After Life
7. Stranger Things 3
8. Our Planet
9. Sex Education
10. Conversations with a Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes: Limited Series

Top Netflix TV releases in 2019:

1. The Witcher
2. After Life
3. Stranger Things 3
4. Sex Education
5. The Umbrella Academy
6. You
7. Unbelievable
8. Top Boy
9. Black Mirror
10. Dirty John

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