100M views in 6 weeks: I Will Find You just hit a new viewership milestone

Netflix has a habit of pulling success from the most unexpected places. Sometimes it's a complete unknown who rockets to streaming stardom, other times a supposed big-hitter fizzles out quicker than you can say 'cancelled after one season.' One author who's been quietly churning out adaptations for the platform is Harlan Coben – a proper heavyweight in the literary world, but until recently, not exactly a headline act when it came to Netflix originals. That’s changed now in a fairly seismic way.

A Chart-Topper at Last

Coben's latest adaptation, I Will Find You, which dropped in June, has gone absolutely gangbusters. Starring Sam Worthington (yes, the Avatar bloke) and Britt Lower, the series didn't just do well – it shot up the Netflix Top 10 and seems to have cemented itself there. Netflix, who tend to be cagey with their viewing stats unless there’s something to brag about, have now spilt the beans: I Will Find You has clocked up a massive 101.9 million views in its first six weeks alone.

I Will Find You has reached 101.9 million views in just six weeks.

This nudge past His & Hers (Jon Bernthal and Tessa Thompson's recent entry), and puts it in the all-time Top 10 English-language series on Netflix. Not bad for a show that a lot of people initially wrote off as 'just another American thriller.'

Where it Sits in the Rankings

To get some perspective: at #9 sits Bridgerton Season 3, while #8 is The Queen's Gambit. The really dizzy heights, though, are dominated by the likes of Wednesday (Season 1, sitting pretty at #1 with 252.1 million views), Adolescence, and the Stranger Things empire. Wednesday Season 2 is at 119.3 million, so theoretically, I Will Find You could break into the top five if viewers keep bingeing. That said, hitting Wednesday's figures seems pretty unlikely unless we all start watching telly in our sleep.

A quick side note that’ll make the stat-nerds twitch: Netflix only counts viewership for the first 91 days after release, not the whole life of the show. So the final tally might be even heftier than what we’re seeing here.

So, What is I Will Find You Actually About?

The premise is as bonkers as it is gripping: Worthington plays a father wrongly convicted (supposedly) of killing his own son. But then, new clues emerge suggesting the lad is actually still alive. Instead of sitting around waiting for someone else to believe him, our protagonist breaks out of prison and goes on a mission to track his son down himself. It’s hardly subtle stuff, but obviously it’s working.

• Sam Worthington - stars as the dad on the run
• Britt Lower - main supporting role
• Milo Ventimiglia
• Erin Richards
• Jonathan Tucker
• Madeleine Stowe

Coben's Netflix Run (and What's Next)

If you didn't know, I Will Find You is just one of a dozen series Coben has produced for Netflix under his exclusive deal, many of which have been adapted into multiple languages for various markets. There’s even a Myron Bolitar series on the way, if you’re a fan of his books. That overall deal with Netflix is up for renewal later this year, but considering the roaring success of this latest instalment, it’s difficult to imagine they’ll let him slip away.