Netflix is normally opaque about its statistics, but on Tuesday, the streaming service revealed that over 80 million of its subscribers watched one or more of its new series of original rom-coms, which were branded under the name “Summer of Love.”
Netflix singled out “To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before,” a film starring Vietnamese-American actress Lana Condor, as “one of its most viewed original films ever with strong repeat viewing,” according to Variety.
“To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before”, based on a 2014 novel by Jenny Han, is what looks to be the most successful of Netflix’s grouping of original rom-coms, which include “The Kissing Booth” and “Sierra Burgess is a Loser”.
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The film not only amassed a significant social media response but was also well received critically, garnering a 96% aggregate score on Rotten Tomatoes.
With Condor as the leading lady, the film also represents one of a handful of successful Hollywood efforts over the past year that has cast Asian leads, alongside titles like “Crazy Rich Asians” starring Constance Wu and “Searching” starring John Cho.
While Hollywood still has a long way to go to get representation right, as evidenced by comedian Joel Kim Booster’s October 14 tweet, clearly there exists a fruitful market for films with Asian Americans if casting directors and producers are willing to speak to it.
Condor responded to the news by tweeting “AHHHHHHHH YES FAM YES” on Tuesday.
The actress is currently set to star in a SyFy series called “Deadly Class,” which is scheduled to air on January 16.
