The Night Agent is Netflix's new TV show darling – but it won't surpass Stranger Things

Peter Sutherland looks concerned in The Night Agent on Netflix
The Night Agent racked up 100 million-plus hours viewed in its first week. (Image credit: Dan Power/Netflix)

Every so often, a new Netflix series comes out of nowhere and blows the competition away to stunning effect. Think Stranger Things, Wednesday, and Squid Game, and you'll get the idea.

Three months into 2023 and Netflix has another unexpected TV-based success to add to that roster. Step forward The Night Agent, a politically-charged action thriller that stormed to the top of the Netflix TV charts less than a week after it debuted on the world's best streaming service.

Based on Matthew Quirk's book of the same name, The Night Agent stars Gabriel Basso as Peter Sutherland, an FBI agent who becomes embroiled in a vast conspiracy at the heart of the US government. Cue a race against time to stop the mole leaking intel and potentially causing US society from collapsing in on itself.

As plot synopses go, it's a simple one. Clearly, though, audiences have lapped up what's on offer in The Night Agent, with millions of viewers becoming absorbed in its cat and mouse-style narrative, shocking revelations, and suspense-filled teases that have left many on tenterhooks.

Georgia looks and smiles at a stony faced Ginny in Ginny and Georgia on Netflix

Ginny and Georgia season 2 is the only Netflix show to perform better than The Night Agent this year. (Image credit: Netflix)

In fact, The Night Agent has proven so popular that it's only the second Netflix show to debut this year with a whopping 100 million-plus hours streamed. The Night Agent only premiered on March 23 but, six days post-release, it's accrued 168.7 million hours viewed (per Netflix's Top 10 website).

Ginny and Georgia season 2 is the only English-language TV show to rack up more hours viewed in its first week this year – the comedy drama series amassing 180.4 million hours streamed during its opening week. On the non-English language front, revenge thriller The Glory (125.3 million hours streamed in its first week) is the only series to come close to matching The Night Agent's impressive tally.

Considering that The Night Agent has outperformed fan-favorite series like You (season 4 part 2 accumulated 92 million hours viewed in its first week) and Outer Banks (season 3 earned 154.9 million hours streamed during opening week), its success shouldn't be dismissed so easily. Expect The Night Agent to join that duo on our best Netflix shows list shortly.

Even more impressively, The Night Agent's opening week viewing figures were three times bigger than its nearest rival. Shadow and Bone season 2, which landed on March 16, collected 55 million hours viewed in its second week on Netflix (read our Shadow and Bone season 2 review while you're here). Love is Blind season 4 and Waco: American Apocalypse, which debuted alongside The Night Agent, performed terribly compared to the spy thriller – the pair racking up just 25.5 million hours and 21.5 million hours streamed respectively.

Analysis: a tough challenge to reach the top

A close up of Wednesday Addams, with Thing standing on her shoulder, in Wednesday's Netflix TV series

The Night Agent has got a job on its hands to surpass Wednesday (Image credit: Netflix)

Unexpected as The Night Agent's, well, overnight success has been, it's unlikely to trouble Netflix's most-watched original shows of all-time.

Stranger Things season 4, Wednesday, Squid Game, and Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story racked up one billion-plus hours viewed each in the weeks after their respective launches. With Stranger Things season 5, Squid Game season 2, and Wednesday season 2, and a new installment in Netflix's Monster series all in development, the next entry in each of these global hits is likely to surpass their predecessor in the viewership stakes.

The Night Agent might be the latest TV darling to grace Netflix, but it's got a huge fight on its hands to even come close to matching its contemporaries' viewing figures. Of course, the series could enjoy a bumper second week at the top of the charts, especially if Netflix users recommend The Night Agent to their families, friends, and co-workers. Even with that word of mouth aid, though, we'd be surprised if The Night Agent makes a major play for the Netflix TV show throne. Yes, it'll continue to perform well for a couple more weeks, but it'll need more traction among viewers to stand a chance of tackling Netflix's most-streamed shows ever.

For more Netflix coverage, check out our new Netflix movies, best Netflix movies, and best Netflix documentaries guides.

Senior Entertainment Reporter

As TechRadar's senior entertainment reporter, Tom covers all of the latest movies, TV shows, and streaming service news that you need to know about. You'll regularly find him writing about the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Star Wars, Netflix, Prime Video, Disney Plus, and many other topics of interest.

An NCTJ-accredited journalist, Tom also writes reviews, analytical articles, opinion pieces, and interview-led features on the biggest franchises, actors, directors and other industry leaders. You may see his quotes pop up in the odd official Marvel Studios video, too, such as this Moon Knight TV spot.

Away from work, Tom can be found checking out the latest video games, immersing himself in his favorite sporting pastime of football, reading the many unread books on his shelf, staying fit at the gym, and petting every dog he comes across. Got a scoop, interesting story, or an intriguing angle on the latest news in entertainment? Feel free to drop him a line.

Read more
Peter looks to the side with the city skyline behind him in The Night Agent season 2
The Night Agent reclaims Netflix’s #1 spot with season 2 – here are 3 of my favorite thrillers with over 90% on Rotten Tomatoes that are just as good
Peter holds up a gun in The Night Agent season 2
The Night Agent season 2's first five minutes have been released early, and Gabriel Basso's Peter Sutherland is forced to flee when a job goes awry
Peter looks to the side with the city skyline behind him in The Night Agent season 2
The Night Agent season 2: release date, trailer, confirmed cast, plot synopsis, and more news and rumors about the hit Netflix show
A collage image showing an animated robot and duck, a man with crossed arms and two people looking over a barrier
7 new movies and TV shows to stream on Netflix, Prime Video, Max, and more this weekend (January 24)
Peter looks to the side with the city skyline behind him in The Night Agent season 2
The Night Agent season 2 stars tease where season 3 of the hit Netflix spy show will go next and it leaves Peter in a 'tight spot'
A collage image showing a man walking in a street, an animated spider-man swinging from a bus and two people holding a microphone at a reception
7 new movies and TV shows to stream on Netflix, Prime Video, Max, and more this weekend (January 31)
Latest in Netflix
Cristin Milioti in Black Mirror season 7
Netflix launches trailer for Black Mirror season 7, giving us a look at its first-ever sequel episode and an unexpected returning character
Nicole Kidman wears a blue blouse with her arms crossed.
Netflix might be renewing The Perfect Couple and Beauty in Black for season 2, but I don’t get why when it’s canceled shows with poorer ratings
Susan holding her baby in Toxic Town.
Netflix's #3 show has a flawless 100% on Rotten Tomatoes – here are 3 more powerful dramas to watch after Toxic Town
Devil May Cry's Dante has his back to the camera, holding onto a large sword
Netflix's official Devil May Cry trailer features music from my favorite alternative rock band and it's taken me on a serious nostalgia trip
Joe Goldberg and Kate Lockwood sitting at a table and looking at the camera in You season 5.
Netflix releases a killer new trailer for You season 5 but my favorite character is missing from Joe's final chapter
Michelle and Kid Cosmo watching a video projected onto a screen in Netflix's The Electric State movie
'We could not achieve that with puppetry or animatronics': Joe and Anthony Russo didn't want to build real-life robots for The Electric State for two big reasons
Latest in News
Google Gemini Flash 2.0 Images
I tried Gemini's new AI image generation tool - here are 5 ways to get the best art from Google's Flash 2.0
An image of the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra from a hands-on event
Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra could resurrect an intriguing camera feature
Eurocom Raptor X18
At $15,000, this massive 256GB RAM laptop makes Apple's MacBook Pro look affordable, tiny and very, very slow
Cristin Milioti in Black Mirror season 7
Netflix launches trailer for Black Mirror season 7, giving us a look at its first-ever sequel episode and an unexpected returning character
A graphic of the PC Gaming Show
Get ready for a bounty of PC games on June 8, as the PC Gaming show is back
A close up of The Daily podcast from Pocket Casts' web page
‘Podcasting shouldn’t be locked behind walled gardens’: Pocket Casts slams Spotify and makes its web player free to all