Was Murder Mystery really Netflix’s most popular 2019 title?

Netflix released multiple lists cataloguing the most-streamed films and series on the platform in 2019. But the things that turned out to be the most popular might surprise you.

In Netflix’s version of a year-end list, the streamer dropped an intriguing announcement to close out 2019: Its list of the most popular films and series to hit the service this year. The thing is, it’s top titles don’t feel terribly like the ones you – or anyone you know – actually watched.

Topping the list is Murder Mystery, the comedy that stars Adam Sandler and Jennifer Aniston as a pair of vaguely dumb tourists who get caught up in a murder plot. (If this sounds familiar, yet not, at the same time, it’s a similar plot to several other feature releases in the past couple of years, for some reason.)

According to Netflix, this film was its single biggest release of the year, with over 30 million accounts checking it out in its first three days on the service. (That’s not  a typo, if you can believe that.)

Um, what? Do you actually know anyone who watched this movie? (Spoiler alert: Yours truly had to Google what it was, as my personal Netflix algorithm has never even suggested it to me.)

The rest of the list makes a little bit more sense, including such pop culture-dominating titles as the third season of Stranger Things, The Umbrella Academy and The Irishman. But a movie where Adam Sandler of all people, like, solves a crime? How did this happen?

Did people across the nation just leave their Netflix accounts plugged in and streaming anything at random for days at a time? Does this make anyone else want to hack devices and force people to watch, say, Marriage Story or The Two Popes instead? Sheesh.

Some good news can be found by digging into lists that tout titles from specific verticals. Spider-Man: Into the Spiderverse shows up on the most popular movie releases list. The recently released The Witcher, as well as the second season of the former Lifetime series You both show up as two of the platform’s most-streamed series, even though both of them only dropped in recent days. And Marie Kondo, Nailed It! and two seasons’ worth of Sugar Rush made the Top 10 for non-fiction programs.

Not all is lost, is what I’m saying. But, man, we’ve got to do better than this next year, America. At least pick something good.

How many of Netflix’s most popular titles have you seen? Do you agree or disagree with these stats?