'Sharq-e Behesht' Tops Netflix Chart in First Week

The series Sharq-e Behesht, starring Florence Pugh, reached the number one spot on the platform's global English-language series chart in its first week on Netflix.

The series "Sharq Behesht" starring Florence Pugh reached the first place in the world table of English-language series on Netflix in the first week of its release and once again drew attention to John Steinbeck's classic novel.

According to Ambassador Arjan, this seven-part mini-series, which Zoe Kazan (granddaughter of Elia Kazan) made based on Steinbeck's famous 1952 novel, was viewed 6.5 million times in the first week of its release on Netflix, and the audience spent a total of 45.5 million hours watching it.

"East of Paradise" tells the story of several generations of the Trask family in the Salinas Valley of California, and Florence Pugh plays the role of Kathy Ames, a complex and mysterious character whose life is intertwined with the fate of the Trask family. Christopher Abbott and Mike Feist are also present in the series as brothers Adam and Charles Trask. Tracy Letts, Martha Plimpton, Hun Lee and Ciaran Hinds are among the other actors of this series. According to the statistics published by Netflix, "Sharq Behesht" ranked first in the world table of English-language series with 6.5 million views between September 28 and October 4, 2026. The series "Lizzie Borden's Story" with 5.7 million views and the first season of "A Different World" with 5.1 million views took the second and third places, respectively. The report of the website "What's on Netflix" shows that this series entered the list of 10 most watched series in 80 countries and reached the first place in 22 countries. Its performance was also impressive in a number of European countries, including the UK, France, Germany, Italy and Spain. This series also attracted a significant audience in countries in the Americas and the Middle East.

The return of Steinbeck's novel to bookstore windows

The success of the television adaptation has once again drawn the attention of the audience to the original novel by John Steinbeck. After confirming the creation of this collection, Penguin Classics announced a nearly 200% increase in book sales in various formats. After the publication of the series, the novel reached the first place on the Amazon bestseller list.

"Sharq Behesht" is one of Steinbeck's landmark works that examines family relationships, sibling rivalry, moral choices, and the conflict between good and evil in a broad context of American history and society. The story of this novel is also inspired by the story of the Bible about Cain and Abel. Zoe Kazan, the writer and executive producer of all seven episodes, in the new adaptation has tried to depict the fictional world of the novel in a wider format than the 1955 movie. The film was directed by Elia Kazan, Zoe Kazan's grandfather, and starred James Dean.