From a Tiger King to an Octopus Teacher - Netflix reveals what South Africans watched in 2020

This year, South Africans more than doubled the amount of their Netflix viewing compared to 2019. At the start of the year (pre-Covid lockdowns from January- February 2020), South Africans spent most of their ‘TV time’ watching titles across multiple genres, however, from March to July, thrillers, action, musicals and reality had a surge in viewing hours, with kids content, drama and comedy and stand-up taking the top three spots of the most popular genres throughout the year.

The genres that saw the biggest boost in viewing compared to 2019 are fantasy, K-Dramas and anime. In the absence of live sporting events, many sports fans turned to sports-related documentaries on Netflix to fill the void in April, May and August 2020.

Made in Mzansi

This year showed that the world has an appetite for South African content with titles made in Mzansi making the Top 10 lists in many countries around the globe. Alongside the two Netflix Originals that landed on the service this year, Queen Sono and Blood & Water, Mzansi’s ‘most travelled’ South African titles of 2020 include Santana, Seriously Single, 8, Bedford Wives, Mrs Right Guy, Hole in the Wall, Baby Mamas, Kandasamys: The Wedding, Momentum, Riding With Sugar, The Groom’s Price and the award-winning documentary, My Octopus Teacher.

Foreign-language titles

With travel restrictions in effect, South Africans used entertainment to satisfy their wanderlust by watching more foreign-language titles. The viewing went up by almost 200% (compared to 2019) - proving that you don’t need a passport to sate your curiosity about other cultures and countries. Members travelled the globe via Netflix and made the following titles their favourite destinations: Lost Bullet (France), Money Heist: Part 4 (Spain), Barbarians: Season 1 (Germany), Rogue City (France), Dark Desire: Season 1 (Mexico), The Paramedic (Spain), DJ Cinderella (Brazil), The Platform (Spain) and Mosul (Iraq).

Longest running on top 10 lists

Throughout this year there have been some titles that South Africans couldn’t get enough of. These series and films enjoyed the longest run on South Africa’s top 10 lists after their launch on the service in 2020. The titles range across multiple genres and include Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness, Blood & Water, Money Heist, Modern Family, Love is Blind, Sex Education, The Queen’s Gambit, Lucifer, Emily in Paris, The Stranger, Ozark, Umbrella Academy, Spencer Confidential, Dynasty and Family Feud South Africa.