Cr. Aaron Epstein/Netflix © 2026
Will Ferrell’s new comedy series, The Hawk, has officially taken flight on Netflix, and according to Netflix, “swings to a strong debut,” landing as the third most-watched English series title for the week of July 13th through July 19th with 4.8M views from its 24.7M viewing hours. How does that stack up? What does it mean for season 2? Let’s take a look.
Before we get into the data, if you’re still on the fence about diving in, be sure to check out our full review, which skewed more on the positive side compared to most critics. It currently sits at a rotten splat of 29% on Rotten Tomatoes. Audiences have fared better with a 65% on RT, and on IMDb, the series is currently sitting at 6.3. For those who have already binged their way through the initial run, we’ve also broken down exactly how the finale sets the stage for a potential Season 2.
When weighing the show’s renewal chances, Netflix executives will be looking closely at its global viewership performance weighed against its underlying economics. On the financial front, the series presents a highly favorable equation for the streamer: it carries an estimated production budget of $5 to $7 million per episode, which is a lot for a straight comedy like this, but was approved for a sizable $17.1 million tax credit from the state of California. Now that the first week of data is in, let’s dive into the numbers to see exactly how The Hawk stacks up against the competition and where in the world it is (and isn’t) landing.
Our verdict? For a pure comedy, this is a pretty OK debut, although naturally it falls short of some other titles in recent years that are comedies mixed with something else. Whether that’s The Gentlemen, which mixes comedy with action and drama, FUBAR, or Obliterated, which also had its fair share of action in the mix. The most comparable titles are A Man on the Inside and Nobody Wants This, but even they I wouldn’t consider to be straight comedy. The more apt comparisons are the likes of Unstable, Leanne, The Decameron, or the likes of Tires, Bad Thoughts (which debuted on a Tuesday with 3.8M views), or Free Bert.
So let’s stack them all up – where does The Hawk place?
Is it good enough for a season 2? Probably. We’ve seen time and time again over the past few years that the barrier for a season 2 renewal for a comedy is significantly lower than that of a drama, but the budget is the only thing that gives us concern, provided it’s accurate.
FlixPatrol Numbers Reveal Where The Hawk is Performing (and Where It’s Not)
The issue with pure comedies, regardless of whether they originate in the US or another territory, is that comedies often struggle to break out of their home territory. We see it time and time again, given that humor is very much a cultural thing, and while American comedy is arguably more exportable than most, you’ll still find it plays better in some regions than others, and that’s playing out with The Hawk.
Looking at the latest FlixPatrol data, the series made an immediate splash on July 17 and quickly secured the coveted #1 spot across major English-speaking territories, including the US, Canada, Australia, and Ireland. While it slipped slightly to #2 in the United States today, its momentum hasn’t slowed down elsewhere—it continues to hold strong at #2 in the UK and just snatched the #1 crown in New Zealand.
Outside of those core English-language markets, the show is performing exceptionally well across Northern Europe and the Nordics. Subscribers in Iceland, Finland, and Sweden have all propelled the series to #1, while Denmark, Estonia, Latvia, and Norway are holding steady right behind at #2. It’s a classic trajectory for a highly bingeable release, gaining daily momentum and steadily climbing the ranks over the weekend in countries like Switzerland, Austria, and Trinidad and Tobago (all hitting #3 today).
However, The Hawk is struggling to break through with that same velocity in Southern Europe, Eastern Europe, and the Middle East. It’s only just now scraping into the bottom of the Top 10 in markets like Italy (#9), Portugal (#9), Bahrain (#10), and the UAE (#9). Furthermore, its complete absence from the charts in massive Netflix regions like Latin America and Asia suggests the series hasn’t quite found its global crossover appeal yet. We’ll be keeping a close eye on the official top 10 numbers this Tuesday to see if it can spread its wings wider, but for now, it’s a decidedly Western, English-driven hit. More telling, it’s a complete no show throughout Asia and Latin America.
Picture Credit: FlixPatrol
That’s our take on The Hawk’s first week’s numbers – we’ll be tracking the show closely in the weeks to come via our regular Top 10 Reports. Did you enjoy the show? Are you impressed with the viewership? Let us know in the comments.
