Secret Level might not have been everyone’s cup of tea, but it sure grabbed a lot of eyeballs, prompting Amazon to give it a green light for season two.
The spotlight is shining brightly on video adaptations this year. After the stellar performances of Fallout and Arcane, Secret Level, an animated anthology series, has joined the ranks of success. Amazon is gearing up for a second season, and as noted by Variety, the show became Prime Video’s record-holder for the most-watched animated series debut in its first week.
While Amazon hasn’t spilled the beans on the exact numbers—because let’s face it, when do they ever?—Luminate shed some light. The series pulled in a whopping 155.3 million minutes of viewership in the U.S. alone during its premiere week. Crunching the numbers, that’s roughly 1.4 million views, considering the show’s total runtime of 109 minutes.
Personally, I think it’s an example of how the actual quality of a show sometimes takes a backseat when everyone seems eager to check it out. I didn’t quite grasp the essence of Secret Level—beyond the obvious intent to rake in profits. It didn’t stand out on its own, nor did it make me itch to try the games it’s based on. Even though that Pac-Man episode, which is oddly set for a game adaptation next year, caught some attention, it felt disjointed overall. A full-circle moment, perhaps?
Regardless, what clearly emerges is the massive trend of video game adaptations. Series like Fallout are swiftly securing follow-up seasons, and even somewhat obscure titles like Sega’s Eternal Champions are getting picked up for adaptations. It’s almost amusing to realize how wildly popular video games are and how ripe they are for transformation into TV shows and movies!
