Ratings Report: ‘Bridgerton’ Tops the Netflix Charts, ‘Dark Winds’ Rank No. 1 on AMC, ‘Animal Control’ Surpasses Previous Season

Broadcast: Animal Control, Fox’s eighth most popular show, is currently airing its fourth season. Across its first seven episodes, the season has amassed 3.2 million total P18-49 viewers, averaging 456,971 P18-49 per episode, along a 0.34 average P18-49 rating in the key demo. However, these figures are skewed by an unusually strong premiere. The season’s first episode drew 1.6 million viewers, over six times the average viewership of the remaining episodes, and a rating of 1.20. Excluding the premiere, season four averages 260,900 and a 0.23 rating per episode. Even with adjusted features, the season marks growth from season three, which recorded 2.3 million total P18-49 viewers, a 230,750 per episode and a 0.17 rating. While some reviews suggest the show’s humor is landing more effectively this season, limited critical coverage between seasons makes it difficult to pinpoint the exact driver behind the increase. Thus, it is difficult to determine what may have actually caused the uptick in success for the series. With three episodes remaining in the fourth season, it remains to be seen whether the show can sustain this positive momentum.

Animal Control is a sitcom that follows a group of animal control who discover their relationships with people are far more complicated than any animals they encounter. The series was created by Bob Fisher (Overboard, Wedding Crashers), Rob Greenberg (The Moodys, The Valet) and Dan Sterling (Long Shot, Girls). The main ensemble cast consists of Joel McHale (Community, Deliver Us from Evil), Vella Lovell (Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, The Big Sick), Michael Rowland (The Life List, Adult Best Friends), Ravi Patel (Meet the Patels, Ghosts) and Grace Palmer (Good Grief, Adrift). The series has been renewed for a fifth season. Animal Control airs on Thursdays at 9:00 p.m. EST/PST on Fox and is available to stream across several services including Netflix and Hulu.

Cable: Dark Winds is halfway through its season four rollout. The series is the most watched show on AMC and within three episodes, the season has garnered 2.1 million total P2+ viewers, a 690,667 P2+ average per episode. This is a slight drop from season three’s 722,375 average P2+ viewers and is approaching the halfway mark of the previous season’s total 5.8 million P2+ viewers. Similarly, season four has a 0.21 average P2+ rating, which is a slight decline from season three’s 0.23 average P2+ rating. Despite these minor declines, critical and audience reception remains consistent. Both seasons achieved a 100% critics rating on Rotten Tomatoes, while audience scores differ by just one point, 81% for season three and 82% for season four. Reviews continue to praise the show’s writing, performances and plot. With half the season remaining, the series could go further in either direction and final rating standings will be available for the season in mid-April.

Dark Winds is a Western, psychological crime drama series set in the 1970s Southwest following three Navajo Tribal Police officers investigating a double murder. The series is based on the Leaphorn & Chee novel series by Tony Hillerman (The Fly on the Wall, Finding Moon) and created by Graham Roland (Mile 22, Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan). The primary three officers are played by Zahn McClarnon (Into the West, No Hard Feelings), Kiowa Gordon (Blood Quantum, The Red Road) and Jessica Matten (Rez Ball, Frontier). They are joined by fellow main cast members Deanna Allison (Accused, The Batman), Isabel DeRoy-Olson (Three Pines, Fancy Dance) and Franka Potente (Run Lola Run, The Bourne Identity). The series was renewed for season five before the fourth season premiered. Dark Winds airs on Sundays at 9:00 p.m. EST/PST on AMC and is available to stream on AMC+.

Streaming: Bridgerton released its season four in two parts: Part 1 on January 29, 2026, and Part 2 on February 26, 2026. The series has spent six consecutive weeks in the Netflix Top 10 so far, with four of the six weeks being the #1 spot and the other two placements being #2 and #3. The season has accumulated 119.9 million total viewers and 700.7 million total hours watched. Viewership trends followed its release schedule, peaking during  release weeks and gradually declining afterward. Season four holds an 82% critics score (61 reviews) and a 67% audience rating across over 2,500 reviews on Rotten Tomatoes. This is a slight drop from the previous season’s 87% critics rating across 79 reviews and 77% audience rating across over 5,000 reviews. This difference seems to derive from viewership preference for the tropes used, with more favoring friends-to-lovers over fairy-tale, feeling like some plot points are predictable and rehashed from previous seasons and the cast being too large for the story being told. Season four’s release also brought season one (7.9 million viewers, 62.7 million hours watched) and season three (10.3 million viewers, 84.9 million hours watched) back into the Netflix Top 10 for three weeks and four weeks respectively.

Bridgerton is a romance drama centered on the titular family as its siblings navigating high society and relationships. Each season focuses on one of the eight siblings’ love story with season four covering that of Benedict Bridgerton, played by Luke Thompson (Dunkirk, Kiss Me First), and Sophie Baek, played by Yerin Ha (Dune: Prophecy, Halo). The series is based on novels of the same name by Julia Quinn (Splendid Trilogy, Lyndon Sisters) and is executive produced by Shonda Rhimes (Grey’s Anatomy, Scandal). Thompson and Ha are joined by a large ensemble cast, including but not limited to Adjoa Andoh (Invictus, Fractured), Jonathan Bailey (Wicked, Fellow Travelers), Nicola Coughlan (Derry Girls, Harlots), Claudia Jessie (Line of Duty, Bali 2002), Golda Rosheuvel (Lady Macbeth, Silent Witness), Simone Ashley (Sex Education, Broadchurch), Hannah Dodd (Enola Holmes, Anatomy of a Scandal), Masali Baduza (The Woman King, Trackers) and Katie Leung (Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Arcane). The series has been renewed for seasons five and six. Bridgerton is available to stream on Netflix.