Netflix’s ‘True Detective’ Replacement Officially Hits Massive Milestone

3 weeks ago 25
Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson in True Detective Image via HBO

Published Sep 24, 2026, 8:00 AM EDT

Rohan Naahar is a News Writer for Collider. From Francois Ozon to David Fincher, he'll watch anything once.

He has covered everything from Marvel to the Oscars, and Marvel at the Oscars. He also writes obsessively about the box office, charting the many hits and misses that are released weekly, and how their commercial performance shapes public perception. In his time at Collider, he has also helped drive diversity by writing stories about the multiple Indian film industries, with a goal of introducing audiences to a whole new world of cinema. 

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Hot on the heels of the sci-fi thriller The Last House, Netflix has delivered another mid-budget blockbuster in the form of The Whisper Man. The psychological thriller, which has been widely compared to similar movies from the 1990s, received mixed reviews upon release. However, like several other Netflix titles, it managed to defy the mediocre response and has delivered top results that prove the streamer is on the right track. In recent months, Netflix has made a pointed strategic shift by essentially quitting the big-budget game after the lackluster performance of movies such as The Electric State and The Gray Man — both directed by the Russo Brothers and setting Netflix back by more than $500 million in combined costs.

However, this year alone, Netflix has delivered the hit genre movies Apex, Thrash, and The Rip, in addition to The Last House and The Whisper Man. The sci-fi action movie War Machine, starring Alan Ritchson, emerged as the biggest hit of the lot with more than 150 million views. Along with the animated hit Swapped, it's one of the two Netflix original films of 2026 that eventually found spots on the streamer's all-time viewership chart. The streak is set to continue next month with Affleck's second Netflix film of the year, the political thriller Animals, which is slated for an October 9 release. After that, the streamer has the $200 million tentpole The Further Mis-Adventures of Cliff Booth to look forward to.

Collider Exclusive · 8 Questions · 2 Minutes Which Netflix Character Would Be Your Best Friend? Dustin · Emily · Wednesday · Gi-hun

Some friends drag you out of the house. Some sit with you on the worst night of your life. Netflix has written both, plus the one who tells you the truth you have been avoiding all week. Answer eight quick questions about how you actually do friendship, and find out which of them was always going to end up in your corner.

🧢Dustin(Stranger Things)

🗼Emily(Emily in Paris)

🕷️Wednesday(Wednesday)

🟢Gi-hun(Squid Game)

FIND YOUR BEST FRIEND →

01

How do you usually end up making a new friend? The origin story says a lot about the friendship that follows it.

AWe got loud about the same obsession and never stopped. BThey invited me somewhere before we had properly met. CWe bonded over disliking exactly the same thing. DThey noticed I was struggling and stayed with me.

NEXT QUESTION →

02

What is a perfect Saturday with your best friend? Friendship is mostly built out of very ordinary hours.

AA ridiculous plan neither of us should attempt. BSomewhere new, photographed heavily, ending very late. CSomewhere quiet, few people, zero small talk. DSomething simple, and a conversation that actually matters.

NEXT QUESTION →

03

You call them at two in the morning. What happens? This is the real test of a friendship, and everybody knows it.

AThey are already putting their shoes on. BThey answer instantly and turn it into a plan. CThey answer and say something unflattering and true. DThey listen for an hour and never check the time.

NEXT QUESTION →

04

What do you want from them when you are clearly wrong? The best friendships are the ones that survive being corrected.

ASupport first. We can review the mistake later. BA relentlessly positive reframe of the entire disaster. CThe blunt version. Do not soften it for me. DPatience, and no judgment about how I got here.

NEXT QUESTION →

05

What do your friends actually value about you? The friend you attract says something about the friend you are.

AI am all in, always, about everything. BI can turn almost any situation into a good time. CI say the thing nobody else in the room will. DI look after whoever is having the worst day.

NEXT QUESTION →

06

You have a falling out. How does it go? How a friendship repairs itself matters more than how it breaks.

ALoudly, briefly, then back to normal by Tuesday. BThey apologise first, enthusiastically, with a gift. CCold silence, then one dry joke that fixes everything. DWe talk until we both understand what actually happened.

NEXT QUESTION →

07

What do you actually need a best friend for? Everybody is missing something. The right friend fills that gap.

ATo make my life bigger than it would be alone. BTo push me out of the house and into my own life. CTo catch me when I start lying to myself. DTo be the person who never gave up on me.

NEXT QUESTION →

08

Ten years from now, what keeps the two of you close? Eight questions in, this is the one that decides who you get.

AWe would still drop everything for each other, instantly. BWe still make plans, and we still actually go. CWe still cut through each other's nonsense in one sentence. DThey stood by me once when it cost them something.

REVEAL MY BEST FRIEND →

The Group Chat Has Spoken Your Best Friend Is…

Four Netflix characters, four completely different ways of showing up for somebody. This is the one who fits how you actually do friendship, and what having them in your life would be like.

Dustin Henderson

You do not do friendship at half volume, and neither does he. What you want is somebody who says yes to the plan before you have finished describing the plan.

  • Dustin is the friend the entire show runs on: loyal past the point of sense, enthusiastic about everything, and incapable of leaving anybody behind.
  • You have the same instinct. Your friendships are loud, specific and slightly ridiculous, and they last for decades because of it.
  • He is also the one person who would take your strangest interest completely seriously, which is far rarer than it sounds.
  • You would have a group chat. It would never once be quiet.

Emily Cooper

You are the friend who makes things happen, and so is she. Together you would be mildly exhausting to everyone around you and completely delighted with yourselves.

  • Emily treats an ordinary Tuesday as something that could be turned into an occasion, which is either the best or the worst quality in a friend depending on your energy levels.
  • You share her refusal to sit still. Neither of you has ever accepted a night in when something was happening somewhere else.
  • She is far more loyal than people give her credit for. She defends her friends loudly, publicly, and occasionally before checking the facts.
  • She would post the photo without asking. You would forgive her, because it is a very good photo.

Wednesday Addams

You have no patience for pleasant lies, and she has no ability to tell them. What looks like coldness from the outside is the most reliable friendship on this list.

  • Wednesday never says a kind thing she does not mean, which makes the rare ones count for an enormous amount.
  • You would rather be told the truth than be made comfortable. She is constitutionally incapable of offering you anything else.
  • Underneath all of it she is ferociously protective. She simply refuses to make a performance out of caring.
  • Do not expect a birthday message. Do expect her to ruin anyone who wrongs you.

Seong Gi-hun

You look after whoever is having the worst day. So does he. It is the least strategic way to move through the world and the best possible quality in a friend.

  • Gi-hun is not the strongest player in Squid Game, or the cleverest. He is the one who keeps choosing to protect somebody else, over and over, at genuine cost to himself.
  • You have the same instinct. You notice who is struggling and you stay with them, long after anybody would blame you for leaving.
  • He is a flawed friend, and that is part of why it lands. He lets people down, then comes back and tries again, which is more than most manage.
  • He would give you his last chance and never once mention that he had done it.

↻ RETAKE THE QUIZ

'The Whisper Man' Received Mixed Reviews

Because of Cliff Booth's high costs — director David Fincher, star Brad Pitt, and writer Quentin Tarantino reportedly earned $20 million each for the project — Netflix has decided to give it a two-week exclusive run in IMAX theaters. It remains to be seen if this strategy pays off, but for now, the streamer is focusing on tried-and-tested ways. According to the latest edition of its weekly viewership report, The Whisper Man added 6 million views in its fourth week, pushing its total viewership to around 74 million views. Starring Adam Scott, Robert De Niro, and Michelle Monaghan, the movie is now sitting at a 46% score on the aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, where the consensus reads, "Assembling an impressive cast to go through the motions, The Whisper Man is reasonably creepy but could've stood to crank up the fresh ideas and genuine tension by a few more decibels." Stay tuned to Collider for more updates.

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Release Date August 28, 2026

Runtime 106 minutes

Director James Ashcroft

Writers Ben Jacoby, Chase Palmer, Alex North

Cast

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