Manuel Demegillo is a writer at MovieWeb with recent experience at CBR, covering movie and TV news. A fan-first critic of sitcoms and serialized shows, he's old enough to have seen some of his favorites transition from appointment TV to streaming platforms. He used to keep a list of groundbreaking scenes in a journal of core memories (like when Locke and Boone discovered the Hatch in Lost). Always on the lookout for book-to-TV adaptations, he was ecstatic that Netflix had greenlit One Hundred Years of Solitude. He absolutely loves to cover anything pop culture, especially if it’s about massive franchises like Alien and the MCU.

Disney+ delivers a gripping crime drama that now dominates the platform's global Top 10 chart two weeks after release, and both critics and audiences agree it's a must-watch limited series. The streamer offers a solid slate of similar hits via Hulu, with standouts Candy, The Shards, Fargo, and Murder in a Small Town, and a new psychological thriller now adds to that list. Hailed as one of this year's bleakest shows, it trades genre tropes for morally gray, complex characters. This show has surged up the streaming charts thanks in part to its 98% approval rating.

Furious finally takes top spot on the Disney+ global TV chart after ranking second behind The Shards this entire week. It's now also the most-watched TV show in 23 international territories, including the Netherlands, Norway, and Spain. It has now ranked in the US Top 10 for 17 days, peaking at the second spot before dropping to fourth place, currently behind X-Men '97. Furious has a strong chance of climbing back up the ranks because it's a weekly release, and interest could surge when the next episode drops. The show is an eight-part self-contained story that wraps up on August 31, but it could extend into multiple seasons based on its premise.

'Furious' Is the Most-Watched TV Show in 24 Countries

Loosely inspired by the 1987 film Black Widow, Furious follows FBI agent Alice Black (Emmy Rossum, Shameless) in her hunt for a methodical serial killer who has a compelling reason for murder. It's a modern take on the Medusa myth that subverts the classic tale of heroes and monsters, in which the villain turns out to be a victim who's only out for justice. Black realizes that she has a lot more in common with the killer during the pursuit, and that ultimately forces her to confront her own trauma and grief.

Showrunner Elizabeth Meriwether acknowledged how the series invites commentary about real-world, high-profile scandals that have yet to receive justice. She offers no answers, but invites viewers to ask the difficult questions just the same. Lola Petticrew (She Said), who plays an abuse survivor and Black's antagonist, said it's up to the audience to make their own moral judgment, but she neither demands nor expects it. Rossum said her character is deeply conflicted, torn between her duty and her growing empathy for a kindred spirit.

'New Girl' Creator Scores Big with Crime Drama 'Furious'

Furious is a major career turn for Meriwether, whose background largely rests on comedy. She had a stellar start as the creator, writer, director, and executive producer of New Girl, which ran for seven seasons. She followed that up with sitcoms Single Parents and Bless This Mess, before taking on the Elizabeth Holmes biographical drama The Dropout. She said she had no experience with crime thrillers outside of watching these to de-stress after intense New Girl writers' room meetings. She deliberately chose to veer away from the forensic intricacies of police procedurals, and instead focused on fleshing out the characters. She did delve into researching that aspect by speaking with people in law enforcement. That's evident in a show that accurately depicted what women struggled with just to navigate male-dominated spaces.

Furious is in the same vein as Mare of Easttown and Killing Eve, stories without clear-cut heroes and villains. Furious isn't even about saints or sinners — it's just a tragic narrative about two people who want to do what they firmly believe is right, even though they have very different ideas about justice.