There’s a new most-watched TV series on Netflix and it’s different from the rest in one important way.
Netflix’s “The Accident” is a Spanish-language series set in Santa Cruz, Mexico.
Not only is this the most watched TV show of the week, clocking up 76.6 million hours watched in its first five days on Steam, but judging by Netflix’s first-week numbers, it’s also the most successful non-English language TV show of the entire year.
Few series scored better this year, regardless of language. You can probably guess some of them: Bridgerton, The Gentlemen, Avatar, One Piece, Fool Me Once and 3 Body Problem.
However, “The Accident” is different from all these hits.
At a children’s birthday party, a terrible bouncy castle accident occurs in which three children die. But who was to blame for the tragedy?
“When the worst case scenario in a close-knit community occurs during a child’s birthday party, parents wonder if it was really an accident or if someone they know is to blame,” the Netflix synopsis says.
The Accident has received mixed reviews, with some critics saying the premise is a bit too silly and the film is just too embarrassingly melodramatic.
Anyone who follows the headlines closely knows that it does happen that children are seriously injured or killed on bouncy castles.
“It gives me no pleasure to admit that I found the whole premise absolutely hilarious,” says the review of Ready Steady Cut. But there are more serious criticisms here too.
The magazine found that The Accident “gets bogged down in overly dramatic twists and an inevitably limp middle section.”
However, the review of Why Tho? was much more positive, giving the show a rating of 8/10. “The Accident is a mix of family drama and crime thriller full of emotionally charged dialogue, high-stakes blackmail, affairs, chases and attempted murders,” the review states.
Decider’s verdict was also “skip it.” So if you’re more of a fan of melodramas or telenovela-style dramas, you might want to give “The Accident” a chance.
“The Accident takes too many big twists in the first episode without taking the time to let us live with its characters. It’s also very eye-rollingly melodramatic for most of the first episode,” says the Decider review.
The Accident is a 10-part series. Each episode lasts 40-51 minutes.