If you’re hoping to see a lot more Leanne on your watch list, the Netflix original sitcom just made an achievement that will hopefully make that possible—and bring a positive change to the series.
Upon the release of the second season of Leanne Morgan’s fan-favorite comedy series, we were met with an unfortunate debut that didn’t manage to crack the all-important Global Top 10 English-Language TV Shows ranking. While that seemed to spell trouble for the sitcom’s possibility of returning for a third season, the first full week of tracking gives us hope.
For the week of Aug. 31 – Sept. 6, 2026, Leanne season 2 finally made its debut on the Netflix Global Top 10 ranking at the No. 9 position. In this time period, the season attracted 2.1 million views and 7.7 million hours viewed, clearly a major improvement from the first four days. Now, that doesn’t sound particularly good on paper, but it’s a clear demarcation of the show connecting with its audience.
Netflix shouldn’t have decreased the Leanne season 2 episode count
As a multi-cam sitcom with a much shorter runtime, the barometer for success is a bit different for Leanne compared to other Netflix originals like, say, Outer Banks or The Gentlemen, both of which rank higher than the comedy this week. The streaming service tracks this public viewership data based on runtime and with episodes around 20 minutes each, the season is short.
Leanne season 2 contains only 10 episodes, a six-episode decrease from its debut season, giving the follow-up season a meager runtime of 3 hours and 40 minutes. The docuseries Death of a Pastor’s Wife, which spends a second week at No. 1, features a shorter runtime than Leanne at 2 hours and 17 minutes. But being outperformed by true crime isn’t out of the ordinary.
That’s all to say that if there’s a clear takeaway here, it’s that Netflix reducing the Leanne episode count was a mistake. An audience that wants to watch a comedy, and a multi-came one at that, craves more episodes not fewer. Obviously, there are cost-cutting measures that streaming services take, especially when a new series isn’t an immediate breakout, but it’s worth the risk in this case.
Sure, there is a certain sector of the streaming audience that appreciates smaller episode counts, but more and more, we’re seeing consumers rightfully complain that we’re waiting longer for a fraction of the episodes we used to get from TV shows. It’s hard to get excited and rush to watch a new season of a sitcom when there are only 10 episodes that can be finished between meals.
There’s an argument to be made that smaller episode counts for comedies deter viewers from beginning or finishing a new season right away. We have to take it upon ourselves to make these three and a half hours last before the waiting begins again. Beyond audience satisfaction, lowering an episode count and slashing the runtime can evidently impact a show’s ratings.
Leanne is a beloved series by its fans, that’s not in question. Even though the show missed the Global Top 10 in its opening weekend, we know Morgan’s sitcom has struck a chord with her audience. But if Netflix decides to renew the sitcom for a season 3, and it really should, the 16-episode model should be back in play to allow for more creativity, a better fan connection, and yes, increase ratings.
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