Lockdown favourite Tiger King saw the world become obsessed with the plight of zoo owner and convicted criminal Joe Exotic - spawning memes, Halloween costumes and a worldwide obsession. It's no wonder then that this show was New Zealand's favourite docuseries of the year.
Tiger King sparked a worldwide obsession when it was released in March. Photo / Supplied
The Social Dilemma was the country's favourite Netflix film.
The film directed by Jeff Orlowski lifted the lid on the rise of social media and its impacts on our wellbeing, data and mental health.
Comedy
We all needed a good laugh this year, and Kiwis turned to recent releases to get their fix.
Christmas comedy Holidate starring Emma Roberts and Luke Bracey was the most popular movie, and Emily in Paris starring Lily Collins was the most popular comedy series.
Drama
The drama category shows Kiwis loved titles with strong female leads, and it was one of the trends Netflix pointed to when analysing our watch data.
Enola Holmes starring Millie Bobby Brown was the most popular drama film, and new hit The Queen's Gambit about a prodigy chess player played by Anya-Taylor Joy was the most series.
Reality TV
In 2020, New Zealand couldn't get enough of dating show Too Hot To Handle. Fifteen contestants battled for $100,000, but the catch was they all had to abstain from all physical and sexual contact to keep them in the running for the prize.
Our reality TV favourite was Too Hot To Handle. Photo / Supplied
The reality competition featured New Zealander Harry Jowsey, who won TVNZ's Heartbreak Island.
Thrillers
When Kiwis wanted something suspenseful, they turned to Mark Wahlberg-fronted action movie Spenser Confidential, which Netflix named as the most popular film in the genre.
On the TV side, Ozark was the thriller favourite. The show has four seasons out now and stars Jason Bateman.
Romance
New Zealanders loved Christmas romance titles in 2020, with silly season titles The Princess Switch: Switched Again and Dash & Lily taking out the top spots.
Kids
The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run was the most popular kids movie for Kiwis, and Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous was the most-watched show.
Horror
Supernatural horror flick Ghosts of War was the top pick for a scare, and chilling series Haunting of Bly Manor was the most popular spooky TV title.
Extraction starring Chris Hemsworth was the most popular action movie of the year.
TV series Umbrella Academy about a family of superheroes starring Elliot Page was the action TV favourite.
Trends
Netflix NZ identified key trends from what we flocked to watch, and our favourites showed we had a hunger for escapism and shows with strong female leads.
Armchair travel
"Kiwis turned to armchair travel and escapism through stories, settings and characters as Emily in Paris and Extraction trended," Netflix said.
"Kiwis also enjoyed discovering great stories from other parts of the world, as non-English content saw a more than 60 per cent increase in New Zealand compared to 2019."
Netflix says we loved anime content this year, and it could be thanks to 21 Studio Ghibli classics being added to the platform in 2020.
"In 2020, the love for anime got stronger. In nearly all Netflix countries around the world, there was a jump in viewing of anime in 2020 compared to 2019: In New Zealand, view hours of anime titles more than doubled."
Korean content
Our consumption of shows from Korea also increased a staggering amount.
"The K-Wave is here to stay. Kiwis cannot get enough of Korean content, as viewing went up more than 80 per cent YOY in New Zealand [compared to 2019]."
