‘Baby Reindeer’ Climbs Streaming Charts as Word-of-Mouth Buzz Builds

You can tell that a show has hit a certain cultural peak when its creators have to kindly ask fans to stop thinking about who the characters may be based on in real life. Such is the case with “Baby Reindeer,” the slow-burn word-of-mouth Netflix hit that continues to climb up the streaming charts in the Samba TV Weekly Wrap Report.

The black comedy arrived on Netflix on April 11 but didn’t make the Top 10 until the following week, when it was No. 6. Last week it was No. 4, and for the week of April 29 to May 5 it continued its rise, moving into second place.

The only streaming program that could top “Baby Reindeer” this week was “Anything But You,” a late 2023 theatrical release with a full Hollywood budget. The rom-com moves into the top spot after debuting on Netflix at No. 2 last week. That’s not to be confused with “The Idea of You,” the Anne Hathaway rom-com on Amazon Prime Video. That film debuted at No. 4 this week.

Sandwiched in between those two is Jerry Seinfeld’s first directorial effort, “Unfrosted.” The satirical, star-studded Pop-Tarts origin story is No. 3 this week, having generated 1.1 million household views within its first three days.

The video-game adaptation “Fallout” continues its strong run for Amazon Prime Video, sitting at No. 5 this week. No. 6 is “A Man in Full,” a Netflix series that adapts the Tom Wolfe novel of the same name. It’s followed by the Spanish-language true-crime drama “The Asunta Case,” also on Netflix.

“Miller’s Girl,” which was released theatrically in January, is No. 8. The film features Jenna Ortega, the star of Netflix’s massive “Wednesday” series, which likely gave it a boost when it was added to the streaming service.

“Shōgun” sits at No. 9, an impressive feat considering the Hulu/FX series aired its finale the week before. Audiences clamoring to catch up were enough to keep it on the charts for an 11th consecutive week.

Finally, we have “Dead Boy Detectives,” a comic-book adaptation about teenage ghosts who work with the living to solve mysteries.

Linear is full of idol worship this week with the stalwart “American Idol” taking the top two spots. NBC’s “The Voice” follows at No. 3. On the scripted front, NBC’s “Chicago Med” and “Chicago Fire” are No. 4 and No. 5, respectively, while CBS’s “The Equalizer” is No. 6.

The May 4 airing of “Saturday Night Live,” where Dua Lipa did double duty as host and musical guest, is No. 8 this week. “Wheel of Fortune” rounds out the linear Top 10, claiming three spots: No. 7, No. 9 and No. 10.

Cole Strain is VP and Head of R&D at Samba TV, a WrapPRO partner. Click here for more data and analysis from Samba TV.

The Wrap Report provides an exclusive first look at the most watched movies and TV series from the past week across both streaming and linear television sourced from viewership trends collected from Samba TV’s panel of more than 3 million households, balanced to the U.S. Census.

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