Netflix's latest hit show is coming from an unlikely subject: the world of chess. The Queen's Gambit is a drama miniseries that tells the fictional story of an orphan chess prodigy played by Anya Taylor-Joy. The story follows her on a quest to become the world's greatest chess player while also grappling with addiction and emotional conflicts. Netflix recently announced via Twitter that the show is their most popular limited scripted series to date, with 62 million households watching within the first 28 days of release.
Netflix also shared a few other fun facts about the series' incredible success, the first being that it ranked in the top ten watched shows in 92 countries, claiming the #1 spot in 63 of those. In addition, the novel on which the show is based rocketed into the New York Times' bestseller list 37 years after its initial release. Not only that, but The Queen's Gambit also inspired people around the world to pick up the game themselves, with Google searches for "how to play chess" hitting a 9-year peak.
The Queen's Gambit currently has seven episodes available for viewing to all Netflix subscribers, and seems to be doing quite well across the entire world. Peter Friedlander, the Netflix executive responsible for shepherding the series gave his take on why it has been so successful: "Her underdog journey is what I think people are really connecting with. She had challenges every step of the way, and yet she's this incredibly determined, unique and unapologetic in approaching life and who she is and who she wants to be. I think people responded to rooting for her against all these odds. There were also other elements — the nostalgic feeling of traveling back in time and the escapist quality of that. At the same time it's a real sports story too. You're rooting for someone to win."
Showrunner and director Scott Frank was thankful for the show's reach and had some words for the sheer amount of positive feedback. "I am both delighted and dazed by the response. It's just all way beyond what any of us could have imagined. But speaking for my fellow producers and the entire cast and crew of the show, every one of whom made me look better than I actually am, we are most grateful that so many took the time to watch our show. And we all look forward to bringing you our Yahtzee limited series next."
Source: Netflix/Twitter