iWorld
Netflix adds 2.2 million subs from APAC in Q3 2021
Mumbai: OTT Giant Netflix announced its results for Q3 2021. The company grew its revenues by 16 per cent to $7.5 billion year-on-year and added as many as 4.4 million paid subscribers globally bringing its total subscriber base to 214 million subscribers.
For the second consecutive quarter, the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region was the largest contributor to Netflix’s subscriber growth with 2.2 million subscribers coming from this region alone. The streaming giant added 1.8 million subscribers from the Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) market.
The company forecasted 8.5 million subscriber additions for Q4 2021.
Netflix also reported that ‘Money Heist- Season five’ and ‘Sex Education- season three’ were two of its biggest returning shows of the quarter reaching 69 million and 55 million households, respectively. Korean drama ‘Squid Game’ became its “biggest TV show ever” by reaching 142-million-member households in its first four weeks of launch. The show has ranked #1 in Netflix’s top ten shows across 94 countries including the US.
The streaming giant said it will shift its metrics to ‘hours viewed’ for its titles rather than the ‘number of accounts that choose to watch them’ later this year.
“There is some difference in rankings but we think engagement, as measured by hours viewed, is a slightly better indicator of the overall success of our titles and member satisfaction,” it said on Wednesday. “We will start to release title metrics more regularly outside of our earnings report so our members and the industry can better measure success in the streaming world.”
Barring unforeseen events that result in large-scale production shutdowns the company anticipates a more normalised production slate for 2022 with even more originals releasing than 2021.
During Q3, Netflix announced its agreement to acquire the Roald Dahl Story Company pending regulatory approval and acquired video game developer Night School Studio.
Netflix also reported that when Facebook experienced a global outage for several hours on 4 October, the streaming platform saw a 14 per cent increase in engagement during that time period.
iWorld
Why Peaky Blinders is one of television’s biggest hits that still deserves more attention
Six seasons, multiple awards and the release of Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man bring the Shelby saga back into the spotlight
In the crowded universe of streaming content, only a handful of shows manage to leave a lasting cultural footprint. Peaky Blinders is overwhelmingly considered one of the biggest global hits of the past decade. Yet many viewers still haven’t fully explored the dark, gripping world of the Shelby family.
Originally produced for the UK’s BBC and later finding a massive global audience through Netflix, the series quietly grew from a British period drama into a worldwide streaming phenomenon.
Created by Steven Knight, the show follows the rise of the Shelby crime family in post-First World War Birmingham. What begins as a gritty street-gang story gradually expands into a sweeping narrative about ambition, politics, power and survival.
At the centre of the saga is Thomas Shelby, portrayed with extraordinary depth by Cillian Murphy. The casting of Murphy is widely regarded as perfect for the role. With piercing eyes, restrained dialogue and an almost hypnotic screen presence, he transforms Shelby into one of the most unforgettable characters in modern screen storytelling.
Murphy’s brilliance lies in his restraint. He rarely shouts or performs theatrically. Instead, a quiet stare, a calculated pause or a subtle shift in expression conveys the emotional storms within the character. Beneath the ruthless gang leader is a war veteran carrying trauma, guilt and loneliness. Murphy captures this complexity with remarkable precision, making Thomas Shelby both terrifying and deeply human.
Beyond its central performance, Peaky Blinders stands out for its unfiltered portrayal of reality. The show does not romanticise crime. Instead, it exposes the harsh social conditions of early 20th-century Britain, from poverty and class struggle to political extremism and the psychological scars left by war.
The series also presents powerful female characters who hold their own within the Shelby empire. Polly Gray, played by Helen McCrory, is the strategic backbone of the family and one of the most formidable figures in the story. Women in the series shape decisions, influence power structures and challenge the rigid social norms of the time.
Across six seasons, the narrative grows dramatically in scale. What begins in the smoky streets of Birmingham evolves into a story involving political conspiracies, fascism and international criminal networks.
The series has also earned significant critical acclaim. It won the BAFTA Television Award for Best Drama Series in 2018 and multiple National Television Awards for Best Drama, cementing its reputation as one of Britain’s most celebrated modern shows.
Another defining feature of the series is its iconic music. The show’s opening theme, Red Right Hand by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, became instantly recognisable and widely associated with the Shelby universe. Combined with a powerful soundtrack featuring artists such as Arctic Monkeys and Radiohead, the music helped shape the show’s dark, stylish identity and became hugely popular among fans.
And the Shelby story is not over yet.
In fact, its legacy is unfolding right now. The long-awaited feature-length continuation, Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man, was released on March 6, 2026, bringing the Shelby universe from streaming screens to cinemas and giving fans a new chapter in the saga.
For viewers who have not yet stepped into this world, the timing could not be better.
Six gripping seasons are ready to binge on Netflix. A new film has just arrived in theatres. And at the heart of it all stands one of the most magnetic performances in modern drama by Cillian Murphy.
So if Peaky Blinders has been sitting on your watchlist for years, this weekend is your moment.
So, by order of the Peaky fookin’ Blinders, consider this your cue to finally step into the ruthless world of Thomas Shelby. Pour yourself a drink, clear your schedule and press the play button. Because when the Peaky Blinders give an order, you listen.
