The blaze of Meghan Markle-shaped publicity around The Gentlemen appears to have done little for the show’s UK ratings, according to official figures.
Season 2 of Guy Ritchie‘s glossy crime drama premiered on September 3 on Netflix and, after seven days of streaming, the first episode was watched by 3 million British viewers.
The Gentlemen‘s viewing figures dropped around 15% from Season 1’s debut episode, which was streamed by an audience of 3.5 million in March 2024.
The ratings were supplied by Overnights.tv via Barb, the UK’s official TV audience body. The figures differ from Netflix’s data, which measures views rather than viewers.
Despite the differing data points, the downward decline in Netflix views was similar. Deadline’s Katie Campione reported that The Gentlemen scored 6.7 million streams in its first four days of availability.
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That put it at No. 3 on Netflix’s English TV list from August 31 to September 6, but the series is facing nearly a 50% audience decline in its opening weekend versus Season 1’s premiere viewership.
This trend is not unique to The Gentlemen. Many of the streamer’s continuing series have not been able to attract the same audience as Season 1, including huge hits like Wednesday.
The Gentlemen has already been renewed for a third season amid wild speculation about Markle joining the cast. The Duchess’ arrival has not been confirmed or denied by Netflix and The Gentlemen team.
The Gentlemen stars Theo James as Eddie Horniman, who unexpectedly inherits his father’s sizeable country estate – only to discover it’s part of a cannabis empire.