David Farnor | On 12, Jul 2020

Facebook Watch has just broken its own streaming records, with the latest episode of Red Table Talk becoming its most watch original show to date.

Red Table Talk, which is hosted by Jada Pinkett Smith, is one of the social network’s most successful ventures into streaming video. It has 9.4 milllion followers on Facebook and bagged Facebook its first Daytime Emmy Award nod back in 2019 for the informative talk-show category. Back then, its episode featuring Jordyn Woods was the record-holder for views, with 7.5 million people reportedly watching for at least one minute in its first 24 hours.

Now, that record has been smashed by some margin, as en episode featuring Jada Pinkett Smith and Will Smith talking about their relationship has been watched 22.8 million times – almost as many as the 32 million its first episode has racked up over two years.

The episode’s rapidly spreading popularity is down to the hot button topic that Jada and Will address, as they discuss recent headlines about Jada’s relationship with singer August Alsina. The resulting confessional delved into how the couple had separated before Jada’s link to August became romantic, while also raising rumours about Will and Focus co-star Margot Robbie.

The celeb gossip has whipped up interest for the show, whose reach has been limited to some degree by the fact that it airs on Facebook Watch, a fledgling video platform from the social network. But its strength lies in the way it skirts away from more sensationalist subject matter, as it discusses with insight and frank depth everything from motherhood, addiction, immigration, domestic abuse and the racial divide between women of colour and white women to mental health issues, coronavirus and gun violence.

You can watch the episode below:

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