Nielsen Streaming Rattings: ‘Jupiter’s Legacy’ Not Good Enough For Netflix to Renew, But Strong Enough to Lead the Week of May 10-16

Netflix original series 'Jupiter's Legacy'

(Image credit: Netflix)

In its first full week on Netflix, Jupiter’s Legacy captured 1.019 billion minutes of viewing in the U.S., making it the most watched show on the major U.S. SVOD services for the week of May 10-16, according to Nielsen.

Released May 7, the eight-episode original series, based on the comic books of Mark Millar and Frank Quitely, was up 413 million viewing minutes week over week. That jump took the series from the No. 4 spot on Nielsen’s prior-week ranking to the top spot. Jupiter’s Legacy maintained its No. 1 position on Nielsen’s original series sub ranking week over week.

Nielsen Weekly Rankings May 10-16 — Weekly Rankings May 10-16 (Image credit: Nielsen)

Jupiter’s Legacy, starring Josh Duhamel and Leslie Bibb, was the only television program or film, according to Nielsen, to break the 1 billion viewing minutes mark among the four major U.S. subscription streaming services: Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Hulu and Disney Plus.

Notably, however, Netflix confirmed last week that the show is not coming back for a second season. So what happened

Reelgood, a startup in the business of directing consumers where to find shows they’re searching for, recently released some data showing that Jupiter’s Legacy didn’t have the audience legs of some of the top SVOD service’s recent hits.

Netflix’s acquired series Startup took the No. 2 spot overall and ranked No. 1 on Nielsen’s acquired series sub-ranker. The crime drama’s 31 episodes, staring Adam Brody, garnered 760 million viewing minutes. Startup launched on Netflix May 4. In its first six days on the streaming service, the three-season series netted just 166 million viewing minutes and did not make the top 10.

Startup first aired on Crackle in September 2016. The third and final season of the show premiered in November 2018.

Netflix’s new multi-camera original series The Upshaws drew 560 million U.S. viewing minutes in its first five days on the streaming service. The 10-episode series, which centers on a working-class African American family in Indiana struggling to make it work, took the No. 7 spot on the overall chart and the No. 3 spot on Nielsen’s original series list. According to Nielsen, African-American homes made up 64% of the comedy’s viewership.

Nielsen Weekly Rankings - Original Series May 10-16 — Original Series (Image credit: Nielsen)

May 10-16 saw offset repeats of Grey’s Anatomy and NCIS take the No. 3 and No. 4 spots respectively. Netflix’s off-network run of ABC’s Grey’s Anatomy, the venerable 371-episode medical drama, tallied 691 million U.S. streaming minutes. Meanwhile Netflix’s off-network run of CBS' NCIS’ (353 episodes) garnered 672 million minutes of viewing.

Taking the No. 5 spot overall and ranking second on Nielsen’s original series chart was Hulu’s The Handmaid’s Tale. The drama’s 41 episodes tallied 584 million viewing minutes, down 106 million viewing minutes week over week.

According to Nielsen, females made up 70% of The Handmaid’s Tale viewership. The series was the only non-Netflix program to make Nielsen’s overall streaming rankings during the week of May 10.

Nielsen Weekly Rankings - Acquired Series May 10-16 — Acquired Series (Image credit: Nielsen)

Two Netflix movies—The Woman In The Window and The Mitchells vs The Machines—made the overall rankings for the week of May 10.

The Woman in The Window, starring Amy Adams as psychologist who witnesses a crime while spying on her new neighbors, was originally scheduled to be released by Disney. Disney had acquired the film as part of buying the 20th Century Fox film studio in March 2019. But for the usual COVID-related reasons, the studio sold the movie to Netflix, which debuted the film on May 14. In its first three days on the streaming service the movie garnered 500 million viewing minutes.

The Mitchells vs The Machines fell from the No. 1 spot to the No. 10 spot on Nielsen’s SVOD overall chart during the week ending May 16. An animated comedy about an everyday family’s struggle to relate with each other while technology rises all around them, The Mitchells vs. The Machines drew 495 million viewing minutes, down 358 million viewing minutes week over week.