‘Dahmer’ becomes Netflix's second-biggest show

In its first four weeks, Ryan Murphy's show has already surpassed 701.37 million hours of viewership

The binge-watching viewers of Dahmer, Netflix's frightening drama starring Evan Peters as the notorious serial killer, continue to arrive in record numbers.

For the third consecutive week, Ryan Murphy's Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story has been the most-watched English language TV show on Netflix, bagging 205.33 million hours for the week of October 3 to 9. 

The limited series has been seen for a total of 701.37 million hours since its introduction on Netflix, making it the network's second most popular English-language series ever in its first 28 days of availability. In its first four weeks on the streaming site, Dahmer has already surpassed the cumulative viewership of both seasons one and two of Shonda Rhimes's Bridgerton.

The ten-part series, starring Peters as the infamous murderer, is mostly recounted from the perspective of his victims. The narrative dwells on the police incompetence and apathy that enabled Dahmer to continue on a killing rampage that lasted for years. 

Although Netflix had described the miniseries as a means of “giving the victims a voice,” their families don’t seem to see it that way. In an interview with Insider, Rita Isbell, the sister of Errol Lindsey, one of the serial killer’s victims, regretted not having been consulted by Netflix: “I was never contacted about the show. I feel like Netflix should’ve asked if we mind or how we felt about making it. They didn’t ask me anything. They just did it.” Her poignant testimony at the Jeffrey Dahmer trial was recreated in the Netflix series.

This situation has continued to fuel criticism on social media. Eric Perry, who claims to be a cousin of Errol Lindsey, also called out Netflix’s approach on Twitter: “I’m not telling anyone what to watch, I know true crime media is huge rn, but if you’re actually curious about the victims, my family (the Isbell’s) are pissed about this show. It’s retraumatizing over and over again, and for what? How many movies/shows/documentaries do we need?”

Joining Richard Jenkins, Molly Ringwald, and Michael Learned as series regulars are Niecy Nash. Murphy and Ian Brennan conceived and executive produced the show, together with Alexis Martin Woodall, Eric Kovtun, Evan Peters, Janet Mock, and Carl Franklin.

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