Tiger King viewing figures released as 34 million tune in to Netflix hit

Tiger King has been named one of Netflix’s biggest original series less than two weeks after it launched.

While the streaming service is famously secretive about its viewing figures and only releases statistics for its biggest shows, Variety reports that more 34.3 million people tuned into the documentary series within 10 days of it dropping online on 20 March.

Using data from Nielson, which only tracks US watchers, the report’s findings make Tiger King one of Netflix’s biggest launches to date, beating the launch of Stranger Things series two and nearly overtaking the 36.3 million people who tuned in to Stranger Things’ third series 10 days after it debuted in 2019.

Following private zoo owner Joe Exotic and a cast of big cat owners in the US, Tiger King has been a huge word of mouth hit for the streaming service, being discussed by everyone from Gwyneth Paltrow to President Donald Trump.

The president was asked during a coronavirus briefing on Wednesday night whether he would consider pardoning Exotic, who is serving a 22-year prison sentence for his involvement in a murder-for-hire plot.

Trump admitted not to have watched the show, but promised he’d “take a look” at Exotic’s case.