Controversial Netflix Show Hits Huge Milestone

Netflix subscribers continue to watch Dahmer — Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story — despite the controversy surrounding it. The Ryan Murphy-created Netflix original limited series, which stars Evan Peters as the convicted serial killer, has drawn in millions of viewers since its Sept. 21 premiere and is cementing its place as Netflix’s second-most popular English-language series of all time, even beating out Bridgerton.

For the third week in a row, Dahmer topped the streamer’s English TV Top 10 list, gaining 205.33 million hours viewed for the week of Oct. 3-9. The series previously racked up 196.2 million hours viewed in its first week and 299.84 million hours viewed during its second week, bringing the show’s total hours viewed for its first three weeks of streaming to 701.37 million hours and making the show the streamer’s second most popular English series of all time. Dahmer only falls behind the fourth season of Stranger Things on that list, with the popular sci-fi series having garnered 1.35 billion hours viewed in its first month. Dahmer has also topped both seasons of Bridgerton. Meanwhile, Squid Game remains Netflix’s most-viewed series of any language of all time, having received 1.65 billion hours viewed in its first 28 days on the service.

Created by Murphy and Ian Brennan, the 10-part series follows the story of Dahmer, the real-life serial killer who committed the murder and dismemberment of 17 men and boys between 1978 and 1991. Largely told from the point of view of his victims, many of whom were Black, gay men, the series uncovers the unfathomable crimes he committed, how police were slow to act, and the impact it left on America and those close to each victim.

While Dahmer‘s success cannot be denied, the series hasn’t gone without controversy. Amid a wave of backlash, Netflix recently removed the LGBTQ category tag from the limited series. The tag was one of several attached to the series along with tags for the horror and dark categories. Tags are meant to make it easier for subscribers to make search queries easier for subscribers, and those attached to the LGBTQ tag feature characters that identify with the LGBTQ community and offer representation.

Dahmer has also faced backlash from the families of the victims, some of whom have publicly stated that they were not approached by Netflix or anyone attached to the series about the show. Rita Isbell, the sister of Errol Lindsey, wrote for Insider, “Netflix should’ve asked if we mind or how we felt about making it. They didn’t ask me anything. They just did it,” adding that “it’s sad that they’re just making money off of this tragedy. That’s just greed.”

Dahmer currently ranks as the No. 1 series streaming on Netflix in the U.S. It also remains the most popular title on Netflix worldwide as of FlixPatrol’s Oct. 11 report.