Launched last Thursday on Netflix, the first 100% Luxembourg series on the streaming service, "Capitani", has made quite an entry. On Luxembourg screens, no surprise. Since Saturday, the fiction directed by Christophe Wagner ranks number one on the most watched series list. But its success goes far beyond the grand duchy’s borders.

As the American streaming platform tends to communicate very little on its numbers, these are not official figures. However, since February 2020, Netflix has published a daily top 10 of the most viewed films and series in each country, which various other websites have started to collect and compile.

And it is precisely in the context of these websites and their compiled rankings, that the success of "Capitani" is revealed and impresses. Hence, on Tuesday, the thriller, featuring Luxembourg actors Luc Schiltz and Sophie Mousel, was the most watched series on Netflix in Argentina, Greece and Uruguay. But it was also ranked second in France, Belgium, Germany, Spain, Italy, Turkey, Poland and Austria. In general, the Luxembourg series was ranked in the top 5 of the most watched series in 30 countries. And in the top 10 of around 50 others.

"It’s quite incredible!" says Claude Waringo, co-producer of the Samsa Film series. "It's even more impressive, when you take a look at the different series around us in these various rankings and their budgets…" he states enthusiastically. Indeed, the names are impressive, with "Firefly Lane", the new series with Katherine Heigl, the former star of Grey’s Anatomy, "Lupin" with Omar Sy and "Bridgerton", the series that broke all records a few days ago, with 82 million streams in one month.

Some websites have even started compiling a virtual world ranking of what is most viewed on Netflix, based on all the top 10 rankings available.nAnd, according to this list, "Capitani" is currently the fourth most watched series in the world on the platform. Behind the new Netflix true crime series "Crime Scene: The Vanishing at the Cecil Hotel", "Firefly Lane" and "Bridgerton", but ahead of "Lupin".

“Capitani” is number one on Netflix in the countries marked in green, ranked number 2 to number 5 in those highlighted in yellow, and comes in between numbers 6 and 10 in those marked in red, as of 16 February 2021. Image: Flixpatrol

Further success to come?

"Generally, for a series like ours, where there was no big promotion campaign, the best numbers only come after a few weeks. When word-of-mouth works. That’s also why these first results are so extraordinary," says Waringo. So maybe the best is yet to come. Meanwhile, at Samsa Film, the success has been multifaceted, with the double pre-nomination of the documentary "Collective" for the next Oscars, the film "Mission Ulja Funk" featured in the selection of the next Berlinale and this great start on Netflix. "If we were not teleworking, we would all have had a glass of champagne together. But, we will try to do so in the next few days." 

Season 2 is not yet purchased

In the meantime, the shooting of season 2 is scheduled for March. With a slightly increased budget, in particular to pay actors and technicians to standards closer to what is seen in cinema. "We reinvested everything we earned in the first season, while also taking advantage of a larger endowment from the Film Fund Luxembourg," explains Waringo, adding that season 2 has not yet been bought by Netflix. "They will certainly wait to see it first. Even if the current results are likely to work in our favour."  Just like the fact that Netflix has now added the poster of "Capitani" on its homepage, to the list of programs that you can see by subscribing. And this alongside several foreign blockbusters.

This article was originally published in French on Paperjam.lu and has been translated and edited for Delano.