The Queen's Gambit Breaks Netflix Record With 65 Million Views

People have become seemingly obsessed with chess ever since the debut of The Queen's Gambit.

The Netflix limited series follows Anya Taylor-Jones' character Beth Harmon on her meteoric rise through the chess world in 1950s and '60s America as she becomes one of the fiercest players in the game.

Viewers have flocked to watch the series at such incredible numbers that it has broken a Netflix record.

The streaming service has revealed in a tweet: "A record-setting 62 million households chose to watch The Queen's Gambit in its first 28 days, making it Netflix's biggest scripted limited series to date."

Netflix has also explained that the show managed to hit the Top 10 list in 91 countries and was number one in 63 countries. The book that the series was based on has entered the New York Times bestseller list an incredible 37 years after it was published.

What's even more amazing is that the number of people searching 'How To Play Chess' on Google has hit a nine-year high.

For comparison, the third season of Stranger Things managed to reach 64 million households and Extraction became the service's biggest movie ever with 99 million viewers in the first month.

The Queen's Gambit has been certified fresh AF on Rotten Tomatoes with a 100 per cent rating.

The site's critical consensus says: "Its moves aren't always perfect, but between Anya Taylor-Joy's magnetic performance, incredibly realised period details, and emotionally intelligent writing, The Queen's Gambit is an absolute win."

The Boston Globe's Matthew Gilbert said: "It is a transporting tale of an extraordinary life and a window onto a world of addiction and empowerment, pawns and queens."

RogerEbert's Allison Shoemaker added: "Anchored by a magnetic lead performance and bolstered by world-class acting, marvellous visual language, a teleplay that's never less than gripping, and an admirable willingness to embrace contradiction and ambiguity, it's one of the year's best series."

Jim Schembri wrote: "That Beth's exquisite, porcelain features remain so remarkably untouched by the scourge of alcohol and drug abuse is one of the few flaws in an otherwise fabulously entertaining tale of how an orphaned girl found herself through the mastery of chess."

Because the series is based off a solo book, there are no plans at the moment to make a second season. Anya Taylor-Jones says she'd be up for another round playing Beth Harmon, but don't hold your breath.

The Queen's Gambit is now available to stream on Netflix.

Featured Image Credit: Netflix

Topics: Entertainment, TV and Film

Stewart Perrie

Stewart Perrie is a Trending Journalist at LADbible. His first job was as a newsreader and journalist at the award winning Sydney radio station, Macquarie Radio. He was solely responsible for the content broadcast on multiple stations across Australia when the MH17, Germanwings and AirAsia disasters unfolded. Stewart has covered the conflict in Syria for LADbible, interviewing a doctor on the front line, and has contributed to the hugely successful UOKM8 campaign.

@stewartperrie