Netflix’s new adaptation of John Steinbeck’s East of Eden, with Florence Pugh as Cathy Ames, went straight to No. 1 on the streaming service’s weekly chart of English-language shows, drawing 6.5 million views in its first four days.

A 74-year-old American novel is the most-watched English-language show on Netflix. East of Eden, the limited series starring Florence Pugh, debuted at No. 1 on the service’s English TV chart for the week of September 28 to October 4, according to Netflix’s own Top 10 data.

The Viewing Figures

Netflix recorded 6.5 million views for the series in the week, from 45.5 million hours viewed. The series has a total running time of 6 hours and 57 minutes.

It finished ahead of Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story, which had 5.7 million views, and A Different World, with 5.1 million.

The result came from a short week. All of East of Eden began streaming on October 1, a Thursday, so its first chart covers only four days.

The Series

The seven-episode limited series is adapted from John Steinbeck’s 1952 novel. It was written and executive produced by Zoe Kazan.

Netflix says the story spans decades in the lives of Cathy and the Trask family, bookended by the American Civil War and the First World War.

Kazan told Netflix it was “Steinbeck’s writing — personal, shocking, profound, and free — that has kept me enthralled by East of Eden since I first read the book as a young teen.”

The Cast

  • Florence Pugh as Cathy Ames
  • Christopher Abbott as Adam Trask
  • Mike Faist as Charles Trask
  • Hoon Lee as Lee
  • Tracy Letts as Cyrus Trask
  • Martha Plimpton as Faye
  • Ciarán Hinds as Samuel Hamilton
  • Joseph Zada as Cal Trask
  • Joe Anders as Aron Trask

Two Directors

Garth Davis, the director of Lion, directed episodes one to four. Laure de Clermont-Tonnerre directed episodes five to seven.

What Comes Next on Netflix

The service followed East of Eden with another high-profile release on October 9: Animals, a kidnap thriller directed by and starring Ben Affleck.

Image: Florence Pugh at San Diego Comic-Con, 2019. Photo by Gage Skidmore via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0.