You Season 3 dropped on Friday, Oct. 15, skyrocketing to the number 1 title on Netflix in a matter of hours. The psychological thriller even unseated Squid Game – the recently-released Korean drama that has been dominating the streaming platform for about a month. More than ever, fans are wondering if it’s even possible to keep up with all the best TV shows in today’s world.
You is one of the most popular Netflix original series currently airing, and the launch of Season 3 was always expected to be a big deal. Still, there was no guarantee that the show would dethrone Squid Game, a recent underdog hit that exceeded all expectations – especially with global audiences. Many fans are just now catching up on the Squid Game hype, but they have their work cut out for them if they intend to binge-watch You Season 3 as well. In both cases, Netflix released the whole season all at once, creating a serious risk of spoilers.
Videos by PopCulture.com
At the time of this writing, You is the number 1 on title on Netflix and Squid Game is number 2, followed by the Netflix original series Maid, the Showtime series Shameless and the new Dave Chappelle stand-up comedy special, The Closer. Only the last two titles on the top 10 list are movies – The Forgotten Battle at number 9 and Going in Style at number 10 – so the top 10 TV shows list looks almost identical.
For those catching up, You is an adaptation of novels written by Caroline Kepnes and originally developed for Lifetime. Season 1 got relatively poor ratings on cable, but found more success when it was licensed by Netflix, so the streamer bought the production and took it on full time. Season 2 was a huge hit, and Netflix even renewed the series for a Season 4 this week ahead of the Season 3 premiere.
Meanwhile, Squid Game is a thriller about a fictional South Korean contest where indebted players are made to compete in twisted, violent versions of children’s playground games to escape their economic struggles. Losers are killed, and winners are left to reckon with the gravity of their actions in the games.
Squid Game was written and directed by Korean filmmaker Hwang Dong-hyuk, who conceived it as a movie over a decade ago and then adapted it into a limited series for Netflix. Hwang told CNN this week that he did not think about doing a second season of the show until its release, “but so many people are enthusiastic that I’m really contemplating it.”
While Squid Game may have finally been pushed out of the top 10 list, it remains the most-watched series ever released on Netflix. It and You Season 3 are both streaming now.