Netflix has published its most-watched shows for the week of 17-23 August, and one series leaves the rest behind: “Outer Banks” lands at No. 1 in the UK with its final season. Behind it, two new titles storm the chart and an Australian gem keeps climbing. Here are the shows that defined the week.

The full Top 10 shows of the week in the UK

  1. 1Outer Banks — Season 5 new · No. 1
  2. 2Love Is Blind: UK — Season 3 new
  3. 3Conversations with a Killer: The Charles Manson Tapes
  4. 4Mourinho
  5. 5My Brilliant Career
  6. 6My Life with the Walter Boys — Season 3
  7. 7Blood Sacrifice new
  8. 8The Idaho Murders: College Nightmare
  9. 9WWE Raw
  10. 10I Will Find You

Now for the week’s highlights in detail.

1. Outer Banks — Season 5

For its send-off, the teen-adventure hit goes all in: its ten episodes, released on 20 August, take it straight to No. 1 in the UK, as well as in France and Italy. Few Netflix shows make it to five full seasons: “Outer Banks” bows out at the very top.

The Pogues are back — led by Chase Stokes, Madelyn Cline and Madison Bailey — chasing one last treasure, the fabled Blue Crown, against a backdrop of grief and revenge. The season closes five years of friendships, betrayals and treasure maps without losing the pulpy, cliffhanger spirit that made the show a hit.

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“It's when they're back in Kildare that the story gets a little messy and overstuffed, unfortunately.”

— El Kuiper, ScreenRant

The ratings win hasn't won everyone over, though: its Rotten Tomatoes audience score is the lowest of the entire run (33%), a reminder that a long-awaited finale rarely pleases every fan. Even so, few endings have pulled in this many subscribers in a single week.

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5. My Brilliant Career

Released on 13 August, this six-part Australian miniseries holds firm in the Top 10. A critics' darling with a 100% Rotten Tomatoes score, it has charted in 72 countries, though audiences are more divided (55%).

Adapted from Miles Franklin's 1901 novel, it follows Sybylla Melvyn, a fiercely independent young woman in turn-of-the-century rural Australia who dreams of writing and refuses the marriage her family has arranged. Led by Philippa Northeast, the show embraces sharp feminism and a genuinely free, confident tone, a world away from the dusty period drama.

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“Clocking in at a smooth six episodes, My Brilliant Career could never be defined as overstaying its welcome.”

— Carly Lane, Collider

Its run speaks to a wider trend: period pieces built around independent, spirited heroines are drawing big audiences on streaming, in the wake of the big costume-drama sagas.

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7. Blood Sacrifice

One of the week's big newcomers: this Nordic thriller enters the Top 10 on the back of strong reviews (86% on Rotten Tomatoes), with five hour-long episodes dropped together on 20 August.

Set in a Stockholm where summer never lets the night fully fall, it follows a serial killer targeting police officers — forcing buttoned-up detective Thomas Berg to team up with his estranged father, a disgraced former investigator. Created by George Kay, the writer behind “Lupin”, it blends a chilling procedural with a father-son drama.

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“It'll hold an audience's attention for its entire duration, sit comfortably among Netflix's extensive Nordic Noir thumbnails, and the usual crowd will lap it right up.”

— Jonathon Wilson, Ready Steady Cut

Its success confirms the appetite for Scandinavian crime: “Nordic noir” has become a reliable staple of the Netflix catalogue, all bleak atmosphere and damaged characters.

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The next chart lands this time next week. Until then, the “Outer Banks” finale and a wave of Nordic crime should keep your evenings busy.