Fauda season five just recorded the strongest weekly Netflix chart placement in the series’ history. In the Sept. 7–13 window, the Israeli drama ranked fourth among non-English language series with 2.1 million views and 15.9 million hours watched. The result is more meaningful than the raw total suggests: it signals a broadening geographic footprint for a show that usually draws specialised audiences.
Netflix’s views are a runtime-adjusted metric. Because season five runs just under seven and a half hours, the 2.1 million views translate into high hours per account. That is a different engagement profile from short-season formats that post quick spikes without deep watch time.
The chart, at a glance
Fauda finished behind three non-English titles, all with modest view counts but different market bases:
- The Perfect Lie: 4.1 million views — No. 1 non-English series.
- The Early Spring: 2.5 million views — No. 2 non-English series.
- Lovesick: 2.4 million views — No. 3 non-English series.
- Fauda season five: 2.1 million views — No. 4 non-English series.
The Gentlemen season two led the English-language chart with 9.9 million views, underscoring how much larger the global English-language pipeline remains.
The ranking signal
Fauda was a top 10 show in 41 countries, mostly across Europe and Asia, and ranked No. 1 in Israel and Lebanon. Most of the season is set in 2025, with two episodes taking place on the day of the Oct. 7, 2023 attacks. The dual ranking is the number media planners should watch: it is rare for a Hebrew-language drama to top the Lebanese chart, where viewing patterns usually diverge from Israel’s.
Co-creator and star Lior Raz told The New York Times before the premiere that he wants viewers “to look in my character’s eyes” and understand what the characters felt on the day of the attacks. The early data suggests that framing has not kept the show confined to its core Israeli audience.
What it means for the business
For entertainment marketers and streaming teams, Fauda’s chart rise is a case study in conflict-driven drama: strongly local, but capable of international expansion when the story taps into a widely covered current event. The season’s near 7.5-hour runtime means that viewers who commit are adding significant hours; retention through the 2025-set aftermath arc will be the next performance test.
Season four peaked at No. 7 in January 2023 during its premiere week, so season five is already outperforming the previous benchmark. The question for decision-makers is whether Fauda can convert this chart visibility into a longer non-English catalogue tail beyond the Sept. 7–13 window.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter
