The series made its debut on December 22 and over the weekend had garnered 61.2 million hours of views. This number catapulted the series to the top of Netflix’s Global Top 10 list of most-watched series of non-English origin. It also earned Alice in Borderland a position in the Top 10 Series list in 90 countries, including Canada, France, Hong Kong, Taiwan, the US, and Japan. What’s more? Many of the show’s existing fans looking to refresh their memories, as well as new fans who wanted to catch up on previous events, binge-watched the first season racking up a further 18.6 million hours of viewership within the same four-day period. This figure shot the first season to the second position on the Global Top 10 list of Non-English TV series and also secured a spot for it on the Top 10 Series list in 31 countries. When put together, both Alice in Borderland seasons have garnered a combined 80 million viewing hours.
Before the second season of Alice in Borderland hit the streaming giant, Squid Game held the record for the most-watched Netflix non-English series with 63 million viewing hours. It also held the top spot for the most-watched non-English television show for several months after its release in September 2021. While Alice in Borderland’s combined hours has beaten Squid Game’s first-week numbers, it’s highly unlikely it will join the likes of Squid Game, Stranger Things Season 4, and Wednesday, in the billion-hours club. Alice in Borderland is a Japanese science fiction thriller drama series based on the manga of the same name by Haro Uso. It focuses on a group of friends who were transported to a treacherous, parallel dimension known as the Borderlands where they must compete in multiple dangerous games that test their friendships and their wills to live with failure resulting in instant execution. During an interview where he discussed the new series, the show’s director Shinsuke Sato described it as a battle of life and death. In his words, “It’s a battle of life and death. These guys are not warriors. They are not soldiers or heroes. They’re just regular people in Tokyo. So, when they gather in Shibuya at the end to finish this chaotic game, I thought it would be great to show them standing up to the fight as heroes.” Kento Yamazaki and Tao Tsuchiya reprise their roles as lead characters Ryohei Arisu and Yuzuha Usagi respectively. Njiro Murakami, Ayaka Miyoshi, Dori Sakurada, Aya Asahina, Yuki Morinaga, Keita Machida, and Sho Aoyagi also reprise their roles as Ryohei Arisu, Shuntaro Chishiya, Ann Rizuna, Suguru Niragi, Hikari Kuina, Chota Segawa, Daikichi Karube, and Morizono Aguni respectively. The series features new cast members which include Tomohisa Yamashita, Ryohei Shima, Eishin, Hayato Isomura, Maiguma Katsuya, and Kai Inowaki. Alice in Borderland seasons 1 and 2 are streaming on Netflix.
