‘The Queen’s Gambit’, the buzzy, female-led drama set in the 1960s chess world, has become Netflix Inc’s most popular limited scripted series ever.
Some 62 million households watched the show in its first 28 days, Netflix said Monday. In the streaming giant’s typical practice, it provided no direct context for the figure, and Netflix shows have no independent ratings figures.
Still, ‘The Queen’s Gambit’ is clearly among Netflix’s more culturally resonant programmess of recent years. Since its debut in October, searches for chess sets on eBay are up 250 per cent, and Walter Tevis’s 1983 novel that inspired the series has returned to bestseller lists, Netflix said in a blog post.
The seven-episode series is ranked in the top 10 most watched on Netflix in 92 countries, including first in 63, the company said.
The show follows an orphaned female chess prodigy, played by Anya Taylor-Joy, who struggles with drug addiction as she rises to become one of the world’s best players.
