When Netflix Series and Movies Caused Major Trends

The ‘Netflix Effect’ is a very real phenomenon, from the huge resurgence of Kate Bush’s Running Up That Hill after Stranger Things, to the massive impact The Queen’s Gambit had on the popularity of chess. From almost a decade of streaming, here are some of the biggest examples of the effect in action. 

For over a decade, Netflix Original series and movies have been at the pinnacle of pop culture, ingraining themselves into public consciousness and sparking huge movement in how audiences spend their money, whether that’s investing in products or taking up new hobbies. The streamer’s massive influence on consumer trends has immediate effects, and in some instances, has caused cultural shifts in fashion and beyond. 

In this post, we’re taking a look at some of Netflix’s biggest shows, investigating how they had direct effects on culture and viewer buying habits, and backing it up with real data. 

Stranger Things

STRANGER THINGS. (L to R) David Harbour as Jim Hopper and Millie Bobby Brown as Eleven in STRANGER THINGS. Cr. Courtesy of Netflix © 2025

When Netflix’s Stranger Things debuted in 2016, it was an instant smash-hit. Set in the 1980s, it took major narrative inspiration from some of the biggest movies of that era, from The Goonies to E.T. Some have even said the show revived the ’80s, making the period’s aesthetics and hobbies cool again — whether that’s bringing back mullets, rekindling interest in physical media, or having everyone eating Eggo Waffles. 

The latter might seem like a funny sentiment, but it’s very true. In fact, reports suggest that after the premiere of season 2 in 2017, Eggo Waffles got more social mentions in a single month than ever before. Such engagement naturally translated into sales, with a 14% year-over-year increase. 

In terms of hobbies, Stranger Things contributed enormously to an uptake in tabletop role-players, specifically for Dungeons & Dragons. The tabletop fantasy game is crucial to the plot of the Netflix series, and fans quickly took up the game. According to a FanSided article in 2022, searches for Dungeons & Dragons starter kits went up by 250% following season 4.

Of course, it’s hard to talk about Stranger Things without mentioning music. The original soundtrack has an ’80s signature, stylistically using the zeitgeist synthesiser sounds of the era — there’s clear Tangerine Dream inspiration. What’s more, the series’ accompanying playlist embraced some of the period’s most beloved and groundbreaking songs, from The Clash’s Should I Stay or Should I Go, to Toto’s Africa.

Overall, however, Kate Bush’s Running Up That Hill had the most profound impact. While a popular song in the ’80s (peaking at No. 3 on global charts), once it debuted in Stranger Things 4, the song reached new heights. An incredible 37 years after its initial release, the song reached #8 on the Billboard Hot 100. It also surpassed 1 billion streams on Spotify in June 2023. All things considered, Running Up That Hill endured one of the biggest resurgences in music history thanks to Stranger Things. 

Squid Game

Squid Game S2 Lee Jung-jae as Seong Gi-hun in Squid Game S2 Cr. No Ju-han/Netflix © 2024

Among the most successful Netflix series of all-time, Korean survival drama Squid Game sees a group of cash-strapped contestants taken to a mysterious island off the coast of Korea to take part in a brutal competition. There, they must take place in classic children’s games — like Red Light, Green Light, Marbles, and Hide & Seek — but there’s a twist. If they lose, they die. The last man standing wins an enormous cash prize, quelling their money worries forever. 

The mere concept of Squid Game doesn’t exactly lend itself to new hobbies, but it did cause some notable trends in different sectors. For instance, in the two weeks after Squid Game premiered, leading language-learning platform Duolingo reported a 76% rise in new users signing up to learn Korean in Great Britain. In the United States, the figure was still a significant 40%. 

On a slightly weirder note, Squid Game also inspired a huge surge in viewers buying Vans white slip-on shoes, matching what the contestants wear in the show. According to Soul Supplier, the brand saw a 7,800% increase in sales of the specific model of  shoe. 

Bridgerton

Following the conclusion of Stranger Things, regency-era drama Bridgerton has become one of Netflix’s biggest and most esteemed ongoing series. In early 2026, Bridgerton aired its fourth season, chronicling the romance between Benedict (Luke Thompson) and Sophie (Yerin Ha). 

Over the years, Bridgerton has contributed to numerous different surges. Firstly, it started a trend known as ‘Regencycore,’ which spiked sales and interest in period-accurate and inspired clothing. According to e-commerce aggregator Love the Sales (per WWD), searches for “floral print dresses” were up by 146 percent after season 1. Similarly, the search term ‘regency dresses’ shot up by 84 percent. 

Additionally, much like Stranger Things, Bridgerton had a significant musical impact of its own. The show is set in the regency era, but remixes modern pop music into orchestral string quartet covers. Some of the most popular covers include Shawn Mendes’ In My Blood, Arirana Grande’s Thank U, Next, and Maroon 5’s Girls Like You. 

In season 4, the music continued to see surges in music streams. Notably, the Vitamin String Quartet’s cover of Teddy Swims’ Lose Control saw a 2,290% increase in US Spotify streams. Meanwhile, the cover of Charli XCX’s song 360 — which Hyacinth dances to in her recital —  continues to go viral online through social media trends and memes. 

K-Pop Demon Hunters

K-Pop Demon Hunters was always going to be a success. There was a gigantic worldwide audience of K-Pop fans ready and waiting. Having said that, the movie introduced the genre to an entirely new demographic, acting as the ideal entry point into a rabbit hole of K-Pop music — and its impact cannot be understated.

Within just months of its release, K-Pop Demon Hunters became Netflix’s most popular movie of all-time. In fact, according to a report from Luminate Data, the movie’s soundtrack was responsible for around 43% of U.S. K-pop streaming as of August 7, 2025. What’s more, The Korean Times notes that the movie had a direct impact on increased tourism in Korea. 

Wednesday

Wednesday. Jenna Ortega as Wednesday Addams in episode 205 of Wednesday. Cr. Helen Sloan/Netflix © 2025

The Addams Family has been a pop culture phenomenon since it first hit screens way back in 1961. Its endurance in the forefront of pop culture has shaped trends for decades, with spikes whenever new releases come out, such as the cult 1991 movie and its sequel. Netflix’s Wednesday has continued to push the franchise’s trends, notably the gothic fashion and aesthetics. 

For fashion, The Guardian reported in 2022 that clothes resale app Depop had searches for Wednesday-inspired outfits up by 1000%. 

What’s more, Wednesday trends have had musical impacts beyond the show itself. On TikTok, there was a viral trend where viewers paired Lady Gaga’s song Bloody Mary with Wednesday’s iconic dance scene from the show. The song Bloody Mary was not actually featured in Wednesday, but they are now intrinsically linked. The song has now accumulated 787 million streams on Spotify — a figure that spiked enormously following the viral Wednesday trend. 

The Witcher

Netflix’s The Witcher was one of the first shows vying to fill the fantasy void after Game of Thrones ended — and it did a decent job. Netflix has invested heavily into the Witcher franchise over the years, including two animated feature movies. As the show grew its audience, the wider Witcher body of work saw huge success. The Witcher is based on the series of novels by Andrzej Sapkowski, and was famously adapted into video games. 

Video game The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt was already a monumental success before the Netflix show. It won the Game Award for Game of the Year in 2015, and is widely regarded as one of the best games ever made. Even so, when Netflix aired The Witcher season 1 in 2019, there was massive renewed interest in the video games. According to Video Games Chronicle, physical sales of Wild Hunt in the US were up 554% in December 2019 compared to December 2018. In addition, the game had more concurrent players on Steam in the week after the show’s premiere than it did the week after the game initially released. 

The Queen’s Gambit

The Queens Gambit Best Limited Series On Netflix

One of the most explosive surges in popularity came in the wake of limited series The Queen’s Gambit, which saw an enormous uptake in chess players. The limited series takes place in the Cold War Era and stars Anya Taylor-Joy as Beth Harmon, an orphaned chess prodigy who relentlessly and ardently vies to become the greatest chess player in the world, while also struggling from drugs.

The 2020 series was Netflix’s most successful limited series at the time of release, although it has since been surpassed. Given the chess theme, it sparked significant renewed interest in the board game. To put this into numbers, the internet’s leading chess platform saw over 1 million new members per month during show’s peak. Additionally, a report from The Guardian noted that eBay US saw a 60% rise in sales of chess compared to the year before The Queen’s Gambit debuted.

Cobra Kai

Set over 30 years after the Karate Kid films, Cobra Kai continues the story of Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio) and Johnny Lawrence (William Zabka). The series is both an excellent continuation of the cult movies, and a stellar jumping-on point for new viewers. At 6 seasons, it endured long enough to entice a large number of viewers into taking up karate, leading to a large increase in Dojo enrolment. 

A large number of Dojo establishments cited a large number of new enrolments as a direct result of the Netflix series. One such Dojo was the Corpus Christi Family Martial Arts Academy in Texas. Per KrisTV, instructor Jorge Casiano III saw enrolment surge after Cobra Kai. “Whenever I saw they were showing the Miyago-Do side, I was very pleased to see everything they were teaching,” he said. “It’s a lot of patience, a lot of form.”

Netflix series continue to raise awareness on social issues — and spark real action

Sales and social media trends are one thing; huge social and political shifts are something else entirely. Over the years, Netflix shows have proven that they can be something more than just entertainment — they can have profound real-world impact and cause social awareness. 

For some examples, look no further than Adolescence, which paved the way for a national discussion about knife crime in the UK. The limited series from Jack Thorne and Stephen Graham very quickly became essential, hard-hitting viewing — so much that Prime Minister Kier Starmer publicly backed the 4-part series. It has since been made available for school children to watch for free. 

Another example is Toxic Town, a real-life story that documented how babies in the English town of Corby were born with disabilities. The series chronicled how their mothers fought for justice against a council that mishandled the clean-up of a former steelworks, seeing toxic dust enter the town. Toxic Town exemplifies how a show that deals with social and economic issues can have a huge real-world impact. Following its release, the case immediately had an impact and was reopened, and there were additional, renewed calls for accountability. 

Arcane is a rare exception to the Netflix Effect

Many of Netflix’s biggest hits are already based on existing media, whether that’s novels, graphic novels, or video games. In the vast majority of cases, the increased eyes on IPs have meant source material has greatly benefited by adaptations. This much is pretty clear and obvious. Look no further than Julia Quinn’s Bridgerton novels, which have seen myriad reprints to keep up with vast demand following the Netflix series. 

However, the influx of a dedicated new audience is not always the case and cannot be taken for granted. One such example is Arcane, an original series based on the League of Legends video game franchise. The series was a massive hit on Netflix in terms of viewership, but the raw numbers did not translate into a substantial financial hit for Riot Games.

While Arcane season 1 did see an initial surge in League of Legends players, the spike was not sustained. Due to this, Riot Games ultimately deemed the show a “financial miss.” 

According to a Bloomberg report, Riot Games spent in the region of $250 million on two seasons of the series. Given that the player base of the game was slowly falling, the hope was that the show would provide extra fuel to sustain League of Legends through long-term player engagement and retention. The show failed to convert new players into spending money in the game.

Was Arcane a successful series? Absolutely — but the video game was not boosted enough by the ‘Netflix Effect’.

Did you find yourself streaming music featured in Netflix series? Did you pick up a new hobby after watching a Netflix show? Tell us in the comments down below!