Netflix reveals how many episodes each show took to get us hooked

Ted Sarandos, Chief Content Officer for Netflix, admits that “a series pilot is arguably the most important point in the life of the show”, though Netflix’s research suggests that fandom is not achieved until several episodes in. Canadians were on board by the third episode of Netflix political drama “House of Cards“.

Now it’s important to remember that Netflix is designed for binge-watching.

As you can see, Canadians for the most part got hooked on the same episode as viewers from around the world did, with a few exceptions like Marvel’s Daredevil (an episode later) and Pretty Little Liars (two episodes later). A hooked episode was defined when 70% of viewers who watched that episode went on to complete season one Hooked episodes were first identified by country, then averaged to create the global hooked episode. Have you ever been completely addicted to a show because of a pilot?

So how did Netflix conclude these were the episodes that got viewers hooked?

The CCO said that the reality provided them with confidence that was giving its members all episodes, which aligned fans and developed the fans base. Netflix conducted a study to help try and pinpoint that very moment – or at least episode – when viewers decided a show was worthy of binging.

Think it only takes one episode to decide whether you’ll binge watch the entire series?

However, none of the shows Netflix looked at, which included originals and licensed series, hooked viewers with the pilot.

Netflix analyzed global streaming data for the first seasons of several popular shows looking for signs of when people latched onto a specific title and began bingeing.

Episode synopsis: Kimmy has a shock-and-awe moment when she’s introduced to Jaqueline’s plastic surgeon.

The series’ episode is similar to “Breaking Bad” or “Better Call Saul” in that it sets up a format that the series would use for years to come: an A-story that involves most of the characters, and something silly for Barney (Neil Patrick Harris) to do.

Other interesting nuggets from the survey: The Dutch fall in love with shows faster than any other culture, generally one episode before other countries do; the Germans fell easy for Arrow; for the French it was How I Met Your Mother; Australians and New Zealanders need a little more convincing-they commit to shows one to two episodes later than the rest of the world with nearly every show. For Mad Men, the tipping point arrived with the “Babylon” episode on August 23, 2007, when secretary Peggy steps forward with a career-changing approach to a lipstick campaign. In the traditional TV biz, conventional wisdom holds that a show’s pilot is the most critical linchpin to igniting viewer interest, given the nature of how new television programs debut.