Were it not for Netflix, Breaking Bad wouldn’t have become the cultural phenomenon that it did. Several network shows experienced what later came to be known as “the Netflix effect” after becoming available on the streamer. They reached a larger audience, which helped them stay afloat longer than they otherwise would have. The phenomenon was witnessed as recently as last month, when a sci-fi series that originally aired from 2014 to 2018 became available on Netflix in all its five-season glory. It immediately became the streamer’s most-watched acquired series, topping the Nielsen charts with a whopping 1.2 billion minutes watched.
Nielsen’s streaming report is unveiled a month after the fact, and the latest edition covers the week of June 22 to June 28. This was when the new Harlan Coben series, I Will Find You, jumped to over 2.4 billion minutes watched in its second weekend. Starring Sam Worthington and Britt Lower, the show is on the verge of entering the streamer’s all-time top 10 list for English-language series. Meanwhile, Love Island USA delivered its best-ever week on record, with nearly 2 billion minutes watched. The acquired series list, on the other hand, was topped by the sci-fi drama in question, which originally aired on TNT.
Collider Exclusive · Sci-Fi Survival Quiz Which Sci-Fi World Would You Survive? The Matrix · Mad Max · Blade Runner · Dune · Star Wars
Five universes. Five completely different ways the future went wrong — or sideways, or up in flames. Only one of them is the world your instincts were built for. Eight questions will figure out which dystopia, galaxy, or desert wasteland you’d actually make it out of alive.
💊The Matrix
🔥Mad Max
🌧️Blade Runner
🏜️Dune
🚀Star Wars
01
You sense something is deeply wrong with the world around you. What do you do? The first instinct is often the truest one.
02
In a world of scarcity, what resource do you guard most fiercely? What we protect reveals what we believe survival actually requires.
03
What kind of threat keeps you up at night? Fear is useful data — if you’re honest about what you’re actually afraid of.
04
How do you deal with authority you don’t trust? Every dystopia has a power structure. Your approach to it determines everything.
05
Which environment could you actually endure long-term? Survival isn’t just tactical — it’s physical, psychological, and very much about where you are.
06
Who do you want in your corner when things fall apart? The company you keep is the clearest signal of who you actually are.
07
Where do you draw the line — if you draw one at all? Every survivor eventually faces a moment that tests what they’re actually made of.
08
What would actually make survival worth it? Staying alive is one thing. Having a reason to is another.
Your Fate Has Been Calculated You’d Survive In…
Your answers point to the world your instincts were built for. This is the universe your temperament, your survival instincts, and your particular brand of stubbornness were made for.
The Resistance, Zion
The Matrix
You took the red pill a long time ago — probably before anyone offered it to you. You’re a systems thinker who can’t help but notice the seams in things.
You’re drawn to understanding how the system works before figuring out how to break it.
You’d find the Resistance, or it would find you — your instinct for spotting constructed realities is the machines’ worst nightmare.
You function best when you have access to information and the freedom to act on it.
The Matrix built an airtight prison. You’d be the one probing the walls for the door.
The Wasteland
Mad Max
The wasteland doesn’t reward the clever or the well-connected — it rewards those who are hard to kill and harder to break. That’s you.
You don’t need comfort, community, or a cause larger than the next horizon.
You need a vehicle, a clear threat, and enough fuel to outrun it — and you’re good at all three.
You are unsentimental enough to survive that world, and decent enough — just barely — to be something more than another raider.
In the wasteland, that distinction is everything.
Los Angeles, 2049
Blade Runner
You’d survive here because you know how to exist in moral grey areas without losing yourself completely.
You read people accurately, keep your circle small, and ask the questions others prefer not to answer.
In a city where humanity is a legal designation rather than a feeling, you hold onto something that keeps you functional.
You’re not a hero. But you’re not lost, either.
In Blade Runner’s world, that distinction is everything.
Arrakis
Dune
Arrakis is the most hostile environment in the known universe — and you are precisely the kind of person it rewards.
Patience, discipline, and political awareness are your core strengths — and on Arrakis, they’re survival tools.
You understand that the long game matters more than any single victory.
Others come to Dune and are consumed by it. You’d learn its logic and earn its respect.
In time, you wouldn’t just survive Arrakis — you’d begin to reshape it.
A Galaxy Far, Far Away
Star Wars
The galaxy far, far away is vast, loud, and in a constant state of violent political upheaval — and you wouldn’t have it any other way.
You find meaning in being part of something larger than yourself — a cause, a crew, a rebellion.
You’d gravitate toward the Rebellion, or the fringes, or whatever pocket of the galaxy still believes the Empire’s grip can be broken.
You fight — not because you have to, but because standing aside isn’t something you’re capable of.
In Star Wars, that willingness is what makes all the difference.
The Sci-Fi Series Outperformed Massive Legacy Titles
We’re talking, of course, about The Last Ship. Starring the late Eric Dane, the series was executive-produced by Michael Bay. It followed the crew of a U.S. Navy destroyer that remained unaffected by a pandemic that wiped out most of the Earth’s population. The crew was left with the responsibility of finding a cure. Also featuring Rhona Mitra, Adam Baldwin, and Charles Parnell, the show’s first and second seasons received 65% and 86% scores on the aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, respectively.
At around the same time, fellow TNT title Southland, a crime drama that originally aired from 2009 to 2013, was also made available on Netflix. But Southland hasn’t broken out quite like The Last Ship, despite considerably more favorable reviews. According to the latest Nielsen report, The Last Ship outperformed hits such as House of the Dragon, Grey’s Anatomy, and Young Sheldon.
Stay tuned to Collider for more updates.
Release Date
2014 – 2018-00-00
Network
TNT
Directors
Paul Holahan, Jack Bender, Peter Weller, Michael Katleman, Bill Roe, Sergio Mimica-Gezzan, Bobby Roth, Brad Turner, Greg Beeman, Jann Turner, Jonathan Mostow, Kenneth Fink, Mario Van Peebles, Michael Nankin, Olatunde Osunsanmi, Tim Matheson, Nelson McCormick, Reza Tabrizi, Anton Cropper, Mairzee Almas
Writers
Onalee Hunter, Jill Blankenship, Mark Malone, Hiram Martinez, Nic Van Zeebroeck, Katie Swain, Ira Parker, Cameron Welsh, Josh Schaer, Jessica Butler, Jorge Zamacona, Michael Sussman, Quinton Peeples, Anne Cofell Saunders
