Then it has finally happened. Netflix’s controversial historical drama that tried to masquerade as some kind of documentary has hit the absolute bottom of the charts. Queen Cleopatra is thus one of the worst-rated TV series in the company’s history and likewise on Rotten Tomatoes, where at the time of writing it is scraping bottom of the rating scale.
There has been quite a storm surrounding Jada Pinkett Smith’s fictional story and both critics and viewers have reacted strongly to its way of repainting a piece of world history. An industry expert from Forbes who followed the development had the following to say about the situation:
“The show has done something I didn’t think was even possible. It has not just the lowest audience score in Netflix history, it has essentially the lowest audience score possible on Rotten Tomatoes, a 1%. Not a 10%, a 1%. (Update: It just ticked up to 2%. Still an unprecedented low)”
“There aren’t many critic reviews in, but those are low as well, with the show sitting at a 13%. But those audience scores? I’ve never seen anything like this. Not with bad shows. Not with politically controversial shows prone to review bombing. Never this bad, not in Netflix history. Honesty, I think not even in TV history, at least with this many reviews in (over a thousand).”
Queen Cleopatra has even managed the feat of annoy Egypt’s government and likewise a long line of prominent historians, so it is perhaps unsurprising that the series has been sawed along the ankles.
What do you think of Netflix’s at least debatable marketing of the series?
