A recent analytics report suggests that ‘The Umbrella Academy’ was a bigger hit for Netflix than the first season of ‘Stranger Things’. The first season of Umbrella Academy premiered on February 15. It received critical acclaim and went on to become the most in-demand digital original series in the United States.
The success proved that Netflix doesn’t need Marvel to produce high-quality adaptations. Seeing the achievement, Netflix without wasting any time, renewed the show for a second season. For which, filming is expected to begin this summer.
Since Netflix doesn’t release official viewing figures, it is difficult to do its straightforward comparison with ‘Stranger Things’. Lately, a data produced by analytics firm Jumpshot suggests that The Umbrella Academy actually outperformed the first season of Stranger Things. Their data shows that The Umbrella Academy was a vital win for Netflix. It also mentions that this will be another cult classic for Netflix.
Jumpshot claims that viewership of The Umbrella Academy outpaced the first season of Stranger Things by 55 per cent for the first seven days. Then by 16 per cent over the next 30 days. This indicates the increasing demand of the Netflix original content. People now immediately check out a show when they hear a strong word of mouth for it.
It’s worth noting that there has always been a dramatic increase in viewership between seasons. This is mainly due to the strategic timing of the season’s release. Taking the example of Stranger Things, its season 2 occurred at Halloween 2017, which is when horror genre is preferred. This year, it will be interesting to see how the third season will perform in a July summer release.
Similarly, Netflix will choose to take another strategic approach when they choose a release date for The Umbrella Academy season 2.