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American Nightmare, along with other true crime docuseries, delves into bizarre and mind-bending criminal cases that challenge viewers' perceptions of the truth. The Tinder Swindler and Keep Sweet: Pray and Obey are examples of docuseries that explore complex crimes and reveal the darker realities behind seemingly ordinary situations. Similar to American Nightmare, The Most Hated Man on the Internet, Don't F**k with Cats, and Making a Murderer shed light on unique stories, controversial figures, and flawed justice systems.

Netflix's latest true crime docuseries, American Nightmare, has captivated audiences with its gripping tale of Denise Huskins' kidnapping. For fans intrigued by twists, turns, and unbelievable mysteries, these comparable docuseries are sure to provide entertainment. Netflix strikes gold once again with its newest jaw-dropping true crime release, American Nightmare. The docuseries brings viewers into the bizarre kidnapping of Denise Huskins in 2015, an event that initially seemed too wild to be anything but a hoax.

Pictures: Netflix

Welcome to another look back at the biggest hits of 2023. Today, we’ll look through the documentaries and docu-series that picked up the most points in the Netflix top 10s throughout the year.

This list is compiled with data from FlixPatrol, which tracks the daily top 10s in over 90 countries globally. Their data provides a daily snapshot of what’s trending in the TV and movie list by providing points to each title that features. Although we love their data, it’s neither perfect nor an exact measurement of viewership. Netflix does provide its own data on this front, but it doesn’t allow us to paint a big picture of what was watched most in 2023 as it stands.

Because documentaries feature in the movie lists and docu-series feature in the TV list, we’ll split them separately. We’ll have a look at the documentaries and docu-series to do best globally first,...

The Queen's Gambit was a huge success for Netflix, earning critical acclaim and becoming their most-watched scripted show at the time. Despite being a limited series with no new episodes since 2020, The Queen's Gambit still drew in 45.9 million viewing hours in early 2023. This viewing figure surpassed many contemporary titles, including popular shows like Virgin River and critically acclaimed movies like Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio.

The Queen's Gambit is still drawing a wide audience for Netflix. The 2020 show starred Anya Taylor-Joy as the fictional chess champion Beth Harmon, whose growing addictions both support and challenge her desire to be the best chess player ever. The seven-episode show became an instant hit both critically and commercially, earning 96% on Rotten Tomatoes and becoming the streaming platform's most-watched scripted show to that point, though it was later usurped by other shows including Wednesday, Dahmer, and Squid Game.

Netflix recently released their first comprehensive Engagement Report,...

A federal judge has found that Netflix could have defamed a Kentucky man whose picture was lifted from his social media for use in a documentary that allegedly implied he was involved in a murder.

In the 2023 true crime documentary The Hatchet Wielding Hitchhiker, a photo of Taylor Hazlewood is shown, with audio saying “stone-cold killer” and captions stating, “You can never trust anyone.” He sued Netflix in April, claiming that pictures of him were taken without his knowledge from his Instagram and that use of the photos were defamatory because of the “sinister” context in which they were shown.

The documentary centers on Caleb Lawrence McGillvary, who rose to viral stardom in 2013 when he saved a woman by bludgeoning her assailant with a hatchet before he was later convicted for the murder of an attorney in an unrelated incident. Netflix used a photo of Hazlewood, who wasn’t involved in the crime,...

Netflix is facing a $1 million defamation lawsuit for using a Kentucky man’s Instagram photo in its “Hatchet Wielding Hitchhiker” documentary.

Taylor Hazlewood, a respiratory therapist in a neonatal ICU, alleged in a lawsuit filed in Dallas County, Texas on April 10 that Netflix used an Instagram photo of him without his consent in the doc. Released in January, “The Hatchet Wielding Hitchhiker” details Caleb “Kai” McGillvary’s rise to internet fame after defending a woman from an attack with his hatchet while hitchhiking, and his subsequent fall after he was convicted of murdering New Jersey attorney Joseph Galfy.

According to the suit, obtained by Variety, photos of Hazlewood holding a hatchet were allegedly “extracted from his personal Instagram page without his permission, are placed with audio stating ‘stone-cold killer,’ with text captions stating that ‘you can never trust anyone,’ and with pictures of Caleb Lawrence McGillvary.”

The filing states that...

A Kentucky man is taking Netflix to court for defamation over the streamer distributing a documentary that allegedly falsely implied he was involved in a murder.

In the 2023 true crime documentary The Hatchet Wielding Hitchhiker, a photo of Taylor Hazlewood is shown alongside a convicted murderer with audio saying “stone-cold killer” and captions stating that “You can never trust anyone.” He alleges that the images were taken without his knowledge from his Instagram “despite having no connection to any aspect of the Film.”

Hazlewood sued Netflix on April 10 in Texas state court, accusing the company of defamation and misappropriation of likeness or right of publicity. He seeks over $1 million and punitive damages.

The documentary centers on Caleb Lawrence McGillvary, who rose to viral stardom in 2013. He was catapulted to fame when he saved a women by bludgeoning her assailant with a hatchet before he was convicted for the murder of...

After seven weeks of notching more than a billion viewing minutes, Wednesday lost just a tad bit of steam for the week of January 9 to January 15, according to Nielsen‘s U.S. streaming charts. The Netflix hit tallied 810M that week, which put it at No. 5 on the chart (down from No. 3 the week before).

It should come as no surprise that Ginny & Georgia took the top spot on the list, with another 2.7B viewing minutes in the second week after Season 2 launched on Netflix. Nielsen doesn’t split viewing measurements by season, but according to Netflix’s own data, both seasons have been tracking among the streamer’s top 10 series since Season 2 debuted. Earlier this week, Season 2 entered Netflix’s all-time most popular series list.

The Walking Dead came in at No. 2 on the chart with 1.4B viewing minutes. Season 11 of the AMC series hit Netflix on January 6. Netflix...

Besides shedding new light on Pamela Anderson's romantic relationship with Tommy Lee, Netflix's Pamela, A Love Story overturns a Netflix controversy. On the surface, the Netflix documentary retells all the ups and downs, highs and lows in Pamela Anderson's roller coaster of a life. However, a closer look at Netflix's Pamela, A Love Story suggests that one crucial aspect of the documentary makes it a lot more honest and engaging than another recent controversial Netflix documentary.

In some ways, Pamela, A Love Story is similar to Netflix's The Hatchet Wielding Hitchhiker. Although The Hatchet Wielding Hitchhiker is a true-crime documentary, it initially shows how, just like Pamela Anderson, its titular hitchhiker, Kai, shows no interest in monetizing his newfound internet fame. However, as the two documentaries progress, their differences become more evident, which reveals why The Hatchet Wielding Hitchhiker was considered controversial by audiences while Pamela, A Love Story...

That ’90s Show made its entrance onto the Netflix Top 10 for the week of January 16 to January 22, after only three days on the service. The That ’70s Show spinoff series brought in 41.1M hours viewed, coming in at No. 5 on the list of most-watched English-language series.

Ginny & Georgia Season 2 is continuing to heat up the charts, staying afloat at No. 1 with 87.4M hours viewed in its third week. Season 1 also stayed on the list, coming in at fourth place with 43.3M hours viewed — being pushed out of the No. 2 spot where it sat last week by Vikings: Valhalla Season 2.

Wednesday remained at No. 3, racking up another 45.7M hours viewed. Also on the list were Vikings: Valhalla Season 1, Kaleidoscope, Emily in Paris Season 3, New Amsterdam, and Season 11 of The Walking Dead.

As for the film side of things, Dog Gone shot up from No. 4 last week to the top spot...

Netflix took the ax (or in this case the “Hatchet”) to all other streaming platforms this week, running the table and claiming every single spot on this week’s Wrap Report with the newly released documentary, “The Hatchet Wielding Hitchhiker,” climbing to the top spot.

The Wrap Report provides an exclusive first look at the most-watched movies and individual TV programs from the past week across both linear television and streaming from data analyzed from Samba TV’s panel of more than 3 million households drawn from over 25 million connected TVs balanced to the U.S. Census.

In a week full of Netflix news, this week’s top performing programs only further cemented the streamer’s dominant position in today’s crowded content field. Announcing last week that it had topped its own projections in subscriber growth after it debuted its ad-supported plan, it’s clear Netflix has no plans to...

That ’70s Show sequel That ’90s Show, Kenya Barris’ feature directorial debut You People and Pamela Anderson documentary Pamela, a Love Story are some of the much-anticipated projects coming to Netflix this month.

Hitting Netflix on Jan. 19, That ’90s Show focuses on the teenage daughter of Eric (Topher Grace) and Donna (Laura Prepon), who is spending the summer of 1995 with her grandparents, Red and Kitty (Kurtwood Smith and Debra Jo Rupp). Soon the Forman home fills up with a group of new friends. Grace, Prepon and fellow That ’70s Show stars Mila Kunis, Ashton Kutcher and Wilmer Valderrama are all set to make guest appearances in the sequel series.

Jonah Hill, Eddie Murphy and Julia Louis-Dreyfus are just some of the big names starring in Barris’ feature directorial debut, You People, written by Barris and Hill and hitting Netflix on Jan. 27. In the rom-com, Hill’s Ezra Cohen and Lauren London...

Warning! This article contains spoilers for Netflix's The Hatchet Wielding Hitchhiker!Netflix's The Hatchet Wielding Hitchhiker documents the downfall of viral sensation-turned-murderer Kai. The latest true-crime documentary hit from the streamer, The Hatchet Wielding Hitchhiker, explores internet fame and viral culture. It cautions society against making heroes out of people before knowing the true story, detailing Kai's brutal and bloodied life. While The Hatchet Wielding Hitchhiker accurately depicts Kai's fall from grace over just three months, certain aspects of his life after his arrest and imprisonment were omitted.

Kai (real name Caleb McGillivary) shot to internet stardom in February 2013 when he charmed viewers in a television news interview. During this, Kai detailed his rescue of a young woman attacked by the man Kai was hitchhiking with. The Netflix crime documentary reveals Kai's idiosyncratic and enthusiastic reenactment of his hatchet "smash," and his apparent hippy ideals delighted many. But by...

Peaceful coexistence between theaters and home platforms, and the latter showing more interest in awards-elevated titles, stand out as themes this week in VOD play. Throw in signs that Nicolas Cage, always a draw for home-oriented feature films, is as strong as ever, and two unheralded titles standing out at Netflix above higher-profile originals, and the result is several interesting developments this week.

In its second week of home video play, “Puss in Boots: The Last Wish” (Universal/19.99), released in theaters just over a month ago, repeats as #1 on all three VOD charts we follow. In the meantime, the film gained six percent this weekend in theaters, crossed the 100 million mark, showing signs that concurrent availability does little harm, at least to a family title.

This week, the Golden Globe awards and nominations from other prime industry group saw little reaction in theatrical returns other than a consistent interest in...

Kai Lawrence, also known as, The Hatchet Wielding Hitchhiker, speaks out against alleged Netflix documentary exploitation. The true-crime documentary was released on Netflix on January 11 and told the story of Kai Lawrence, legally known as Caleb McGillivary, a homeless hitchhiker who became a viral internet sensation after being interviewed for a news segment in 2013. Following a surge of popularity in the United States, including an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, he was convicted of murdering a 73-year-old man in 2014 and is now incarcerated in New Jersey.

Kai Lawrence accuses the Netflix documentary The Hatchet Wielding Hitchhiker of exploiting him. The Alberta native reached out directly to The Tab to publish a statement claiming that Netflix has not compensated him for the film. He also reiterates that he is innocent and murdered the man in self-defense but was not afforded due process.

So, Netflix is making a movie about my life story before I was arrested,...