Jeffrey Dahmer Series Gets Strong Netflix Ratings: Will It Sustain Viewership To Overtake The Streamer's Other Hits?

A series about a serial killer is among the top viewed shows on streaming giant Netflix Inc NFLX of all time. Could the success of “Dahmer - Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story,” as well as other Netflix movies, help boost earnings and the share price?

What Happened: Netflix released “Monster” on Sept. 21 with 10 episodes available for streaming. The show has been a big success for Netflix.

In its first full week of streaming, “Monster” ranked first for the streaming giant with 299.8 million hours watched. This marked the second biggest week for an English language series on Netflix, trailing only “Stranger Things” season 4.

For the week of Oct. 3 through Oct. 9, “Monster” had 205.3 million hours viewed, ranking first for English language shows for the second straight week. Ranking second was “Conversations with a Killer: The Jeffrey Dahmer Tapes Limited Series,” a three-part documentary also about Dahmer released Oct. 7. “Monster” ranked in the top 10 in 91 countries for the week of Oct. 3 through Oct. 9.

“Monster” now ranks as the second most-watched English-language Netflix show in its first 28 days of release with 701.4 million hours, trailing only 1.35 billion hours for “Stranger Things” season 4. The series passed “Bridgerton” season 2 (656.3 million hours) and “Bridgerton” season 1 (625.5 million hours), despite not being available for the full 28 days of tracking yet.

After its first full week of release, Netflix indicated that 56 million households had watched all 10 episodes.

The series recounts the life of Dahmer, a serial killer who took the lives of 17 boys and men between 1978 and 1991. Controversy has erupted as some of the victims' family members claim they were not contacted about the series happening. 

Related Link: Netflix Q2 Earnings Highlights: Stock Climbs On Subscriber Beat, Guidance, Ad-Supported Update

What's Next For Netflix: Netflix is set to report third-quarter financial results after the market close on Oct. 18, 2022. The company could use the success of “Monster” to highlight the quarter and what’s ahead.

The company will have the benefit of the series being released in the third quarter (Sept. 21) and some of the most successful weeks of viewership happening in the fourth quarter, giving the series two quarters to benefit.

Netflix also saw a boost in viewership for several seasons of “The Crown” in September after the death of Queen Elizabeth.

Netflix could have plenty in store when it reports third-quarter financial results with the success of “Monster” and “The Crown,” as well as the details of its ad-supported plan.

NFLX Price Action: Netflix shares are down 6.82% to $214.29 at market close Tuesday versus a 52-week range of $162.71 to $700.99. Shares are down 64% year-to-date in 2022.