ShortList is supported by you, our amazing readers. When you click through the links on our site and make a purchase we may earn a commission. Learn more

Netflix's number one show is so big it's affecting a national economy - and baby names

The bawdy period romp is back on top...

17 June 2024

The Netflix audience has caught Bridgerton fever yet again.

Bridgerton Season 3 Part 2 has seen the show rocket up to become easily the most-watched show on Netflix across the world. It’s the top show in 85 countries according to Flixpatrol.

Only Japan and Taiwan seem to be immune to this show’s charms. And even there it’s still in the top 10.

The impact of the show goes well beyond the on-screen saucy romps too. According to stats released by Netflix, the show has brought more than £250 / $315 million to the UK economy.

“The shows have also had a seismic impact on the UK economy, boosting it by a quarter of a billion pounds over the last five years and supporting thousands of jobs and businesses,” says Shonda Rhimes, CEO of Shondaland, which produces Bridgerton.

Image Credit: Netflix

Among the stats to back up these claims, Netflix says Visit West reported an increase in tourism in “Bath, Bristol, and surrounding areas,” accounting for a £5 / $6.1 million turbo boost.

There’s also been an apparent jump in babies named Colin, Eloise and Daphne, the latter seeing a whopping 57% increase in 2020-2021.

We’re yet to see quite how much part 2 of Bridgerton’s season 3 bumped up interest in the show again, in cold hard viewing numbers, but it even before that it was riding high off the first part of season 3.

Bridgerton was still sat at number 3, pre part-2 release, in Netflix’s TV chart. And the first part of season 3 opened with a massive 165 million hours viewed in its first week on stream.

The fourth season of Bridgerton is already greenlit. It was commissioned all the way back in 2021. But it may not hit our screens until 2026 based on previous release windows.

Fans are already speculating as to who may be the focus of the next season, with top bets on Benedict and Francesca.