LOS ANGELES – Wednesday, the new horror comedy series by Netflix, has broken viewing records on the streaming service in its first week of release.

Netflix says that Wednesday racked up 341.2 million hours viewed in the week since it dropped on Nov 23.

This breaks the record for most hours viewed in a week for an English-language series on the platform. The record was previously held by the fourth season of supernatural drama Stranger Things (2016 to present), with 335.01 million hours viewed.

Taking the second and third slots for the week of Nov 21 to 27 are the series historical thriller 1899 (2022) and period drama The Crown (2016 to present).

Wednesday, starring Jenna Ortega in the titular role, also hit the No. 1 spot in 93 countries, including Singapore.

The show sees Wednesday Addams joining the Nevermore Academy for outcasts, where she investigates a murder mystery.

The first four episodes were directed by American film-maker Tim Burton, who has made a career out of offbeat gothic fantasies such as Edward Scissorhands (1990) and Beetlejuice (1988).

Wednesday also stars Catherine Zeta-Jones and Luiz Guzman as Wednesday’s parents, along with Gwendoline Christie as the principal of Nevermore Academy. Actress Christina Ricci, who portrayed Wednesday in The Addams Family (1991) and Addams Family Values (1993) films, appears as a teacher and den mother in the series.