It seems Netflix is brushing off sharp Season 2 opening-week drops for several returning series. Jinny Howe, Head of US and Canada Scripted Series at Netflix, says the streamer still sees room for later seasons to grow. The company argues premiere-week comparisons miss the bigger picture. That includes long-tail viewing, catalog bumps, and how shows perform between seasons. Howe made the case while discussing Netflix’s broader scripted slate and recent ratings wins.

Jinny Howe says Netflix has been able to grow later seasons despite viewer drops

Several Netflix series have taken a steep hit in their second-season debuts. Series like Avatar: The Last Airbender, The Four Seasons, A Good Girl’s Guide, Beef and A Man On the Inside each posted opening-week declines of more than 55% year over year. Running Point also fell, with Season 2 opening 43% below Season 1.

Howe said Netflix does not see that trend as a simple warning sign. “It’s not necessarily something that we understand to be true of our shows,” she said, pushing back on the idea of a broad “sophomore slump.” She added that Netflix has had series such as Bridgerton that grew in later runs, so the company is not “overly concerned or focused on” those premiere-week drops (via Deadline).

Netflix’s stance also reflects what it values beyond a launch window. The streamer looks at total viewing between season drops and at how much earlier seasons rise when a new one lands. Stranger Things is an extreme case, but its first four seasons still pulled in more than 70 million views a year across 2023 and 2024 without any new episodes.

Even with those audience declines, Netflix clearly isn’t hitting the panic button. Most of the shows mentioned in that group have already been picked up for a third season, showing the streamer is looking at more than just premiere-week performance. In addition, romance-heavy series like Bridgerton, Virgin River, Emily in Paris, and Nobody Wants This have stayed more consistent, with much smaller drops between seasons.

Netflix hasn’t released a complete performance breakdown for Bridgerton Season 4 beyond its weekly Top 10 charts. Still, it was reported that the season pulled in 97.3 million views during its first 91 days.