SANTA MARIA, CA – JUNE 2: Michael Jackson goes through security as he arrives for closing arguments in his child molestation trial at Santa Barbara County Superior Court June 2, 2005 in Santa Maria, California. (Photo by Eric Neitzel-Pool/Getty Images)
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The new documentary, Michael Jackson: The Verdict, has been #1 on Netflix’s Top 10 list for over a week since its debut. That’s happening right alongside the news that the very, very different film, Michael, is now the highest-grossing musical biopic of all time at the box office, getting close to #1 overall, Oppenheimer. Now, at last, a new show has knocked The Verdict down to #2.
That would be the return of Sweet Magnolias for season 5, the ever-present romantic drama that is probably past being a “sleeper hit” at this point, and into a full-on hit with these kinds of numbers and this kind of longevity. The show debuted at #2 this past week, but has now made it to #1 as another recent, 100% Rotten Tomatoes-scored drama falls, The Witness, down to #4. There’s no season 6 renewal yet for Sweet Magnolias, but its showrunner is already teasing that, and it is not a stretch to imagine it will get one.
Meanwhile, Michael Jackson: The Verdict, has upset fervent fans of the singer who don’t like his portrayal in the movie when it comes to the accusations against him and his trial, plummeting its audience score to a record low 6%, the bottom for any documentary project in Netflix history. This is in contrast to the 97% audience score the Michael movie has. What can I say? He’s got passionate fans.
An interesting addition to the list is Shrill, coming in at #5. It’s not a Netflix original, but rather a USA show that first aired in 2019. There are three seasons, and it’s well-liked with an 88% on Rotten Tomatoes and a solid 7.4/10 on IMDB. It’s one of the best-performing scripted series we’ve seen on the service in some time.
One of the biggest surprises involving the top 10 list is a show that is not on it, and never did particularly well. That is A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder, which arrived at #10 and fell off the list quickly, a sharp contrast from the first season’s #1 achievement. However, as a joint production between the BBC and Netflix, the show was in fact renewed for a third and final season, even though there were four total books to adapt. But it seems it will get to end on its own terms, which is always nice to see.
Another story is The Boroughs, which is hanging on at #10 over three weeks after its debut. Netflix has yet to renew the show for a second season, which is at least a little bit surprising. It is not pitched as a miniseries, though it is easy to see how it could end with the developments of season 1. But it’s a hit, so we’ll see what Netflix does with it.
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