Sizing up the 10 most popular things on Netflix right now

Welcome to our guide of the most popular new releases on Netflix, a full breakdown of the biggest shows, based on who’s watching what.

Army of Thieves, Matthias Schweighöfer’s heist-comedy spin-off of Zack Synder’s zombie heist action thriller Army of the Dead, rises to the coveted number one spot of this week’s Netflix top 10 after premiering on the service last Friday. The psychological thriller series You and the survival drama smash-hit Squid Game continue to reign high among Netflix’s most popular television series, along with newcomers in the form of the limited biopic series Colin in Black & White, the 2012 buddy cop comedy 21 Jump Street, and more.

To help you navigate the vast swath of Netflix offerings, we’ve gathered our reviews, features, and quick takes on the shows and films that have cracked the top 10 list for the United States, and put them in one easy-to-read place. Read on to find out what people are watching, and see our coverage to help you choose which of Netflix’s most popular hits meet your needs or personal tastes.

Polygon updates the Netflix top 10 each Tuesday. The actual top 10 is subject to change between updates.

Netflix’s biggest new releases

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10. Hypnotic

Image: Eric Milner/Netflix

Director Matt Angel and Suzanne Coote’s psychological thriller Hypnotic stars Kate Siegel as Jenn, a young woman reeling from a series of traumatic losses and events. Attending a dinner party hosted by her friend Gina (Lucie Guest), Jenn meets therapist Collin Meade (Jason O’Mara) and eventually agrees to see him for hypnotic treatment. After a handful of intense sessions, despite beginning to feel better, Jenn begins to experience strange and inexplicable blackouts which force her to question both Collin’s motivations and her own inadvertent role in a series of horrifying events. The film premiered last week, which explains why it’s on this week’s Netflix top 10.

9. Riverdale

Image: The CW

While initially based on the iconic characters of the popular Archie Comics series, the teen soap opera drama Riverdale has since outgrown its source material over the course of five seasons to become one of the most fascinating and baffling shows airing on television. From Twin Peaks to Rebel Without a Cause, Candyman and American Graffiti, Riverdale has lifted inspiration from dozens of iconic films and show in its relentless quest to reinvent itself up to and beyond the brink of utterly falling to pieces. The fifth season of Riverdale was just added to Netflix late last month, which explains why it’s on this week’s top 10 list.

8. 21 Jump Street

MCT

Phil Lord and Christopher Miller’s 2012 buddy cop comedy 21 Jump Street stars Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum as former classmates-turned-rookie cops who are sent undercover as high school students to break up a dangerous synthetic drug ring. Accidentally mixing up their aliases, the two experience polar opposite versions of their own high school experiences, with the slow-witted but handsome jock Greg (Tatum) is assigned AP courses and the smart yet dweebish Morton (Hill) is given easy classes and gains a semblance of popularity. The film was just added to Netflix this month, which explains why it’s on this week’s top 10 list.

7. Cocomelon

Image: Moonbug Entertainment

Nothing will ever defeat Cocomelon. The sun will go supernova before Cocomelon is done. Bow to Cocomelon.

If your kid has to watch something (or possibly you’re tuning in yourself? No judgment here!), the animated-nursery-rhymes-and-songs-YouTube-channel-turned-Netflix-animated-series is one of the most popular children’s shows on the service this week. It’s amazing — it’s been on the list since fall 2020 and only fell off once, and shows no signs of going away … ever!

Image: The CW

6. Colin in Black & White

Image: Netflix

Executive producer Ava DuVernay and Colin Kaepernick’s six-episode limited series Colin in Black & White chronicles the coming of age story of the future NFL quarterback-turned-civil right activist. Narrated by Kaepernick himself, the series stars Jaden Michael as a teenage Colin navigating the social challenges and threats of growing up as the Black child of his white adoptive parents Rick and Teresa (Nick Offerman and Mary-Louise Parker). Colin in Black & White premiered on Netflix last Friday, which explains why it’s at number six on this week’s top 10 list.

5. Locke & Key

Image: Netflix

Based on Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodriguez comic series of the same name, Locke & Key follows the story of a family of three siblings and their mother who move into their father’s family home in Matheson, Massachusetts in the wake of his tragic murder. The children soon after discover several mysterious keys throughout the house, each of which capable of bestowing a fascinating— and sometimes terrifying — ability to whoever holds them. When the children are ensnared in the machinations of a demonic entity known as Dodge who covets the power of the keys, they’ll have to work together to uncover the mystery behind their strange origins and how their family is connected to them before it’s too late. Season 2 of Locke & Key just premiered on Netflix late last month, which explains why the series is at number four on this week’s top 10 list.

4. Maid

RICARDO HUBBS/NETFLIX

Inspired by Stephanie Land’s New York Times best-selling memoir, Molly Smith Metzler’s streaming miniseries Maid stars Margaret Qualley (The Leftovers) as Alex Russell, a young single mother who becomes a housecleaner and maid in order to escape her abusive home life and provide a better life for her daughter Maddy. The series was released on Netflix three weeks ago and has garnered positive reviews, including Vulture critic Jen Chaney who describes the relationship between Alex and her mother Paula (Andie MacDowell) in her review as, “one of the most enriching experiences of the fall TV season.”

3. Squid Game

Photo: Youngkyu Park/Netflix

The South Korean survival drama Squid Game has remained in the Netflix top 10 since it premiered back in September, and it’s easy o understand why. The show’s premise resembles a nightmarish Technicolor mashup of Battle Royale and Big Brother, following the stories of seven people who, along with 449 other perfect strangers, are abducted and subjected to a strange series of challenges that resemble schoolyard games like Red Light, Green Light and tug of war in a contest to win $38.5 million. You can probably guess the catch off the top of your head: If any of the participants lose any of the challenges, they are swiftly executed. Squid Game is officially Netflix’s most popular show, which explains why it’s at number three on the this week’s top 10.

2. You

Image: John P. Fleenor/Netflix

Based on Caroline Kepnes’ best-selling novel of the same name, season 3 of You finds serial killer Joe Goldberg and his love interest/accomplice Love Quinn happily married in Northern California and raising their infant son Henry. Everything seems peachy keen in the suburbs, until Joe predictably falls into his old habit of romanticizing yet another woman before plotting to murder her when the reality of who she is doesn’t match with the idea of her he’s created in his own mind. Naturally his wife, who’s just as crazy as him, is not gonna tolerate any of this shit. The third season of You premiered last month, which explains why it’s number one on the Netflix top 10 this week.

1. Army of Thieves

Photo: Stanislav Honzik/ Netflix

Ludwig Dieter, the safe-cracking savant first introduced in Zach Snyder’s 2021 zombie heist film Army of the Dead, returns in the decidedly non-zombie-related heist movie Army of Thieves. Set six years before the events of Army of the Dead, the film find Dieter in the early years of his safecracking career. Recruited by a mysterious woman named Gwendoline (Nathalie Emmaneul) to take part in a high-stakes heist involving the cracking of three notoriously impenetrable safes across Europe, Dieter will have to rise to the occasion if he has any hope of becoming a legend among thieves — let alone making it out of the job alive. Directed by and starring Matthias Schweighöfer, Army of Thieves looks like an appropriately explosive and entertaining enough follow-up to Snyder’s original film, but is there more beneath the surface? From our review,

The myopic goals of franchise-building consume Army of Thieves down to the rind. The origin of Sebastian’s eventual Ludwig Dieter pseudonym is tied to a comic book, with cringeworthy abandon. Sebastian often has dreams of zombies coming to kill him, setting up the story beat in Army of the Dead where he locks himself in a safe for protection. And the film’s prologue connects directly to Snyder’s flick, through a flash-forward sequence. The only variation Schweighöfer takes is in the look and the feel of his movie: It isn’t nearly as bleak. Brightly lit and with far less gunplay, it also isn’t as gruesome — or as entertaining, for that matter. The quirky humor drowns the film in maudlin seas.

Source: https://www.polygon.com/2020/3/10/21167710/10-netflix-movies-shows-most-popular