Netflix churns ‘Loudermilk’ into a fresh hit

Just as it did last year with Suits, Netflix has breathed new life into a forgotten TV property.

In this case it’s Loudermilk, the 2017 comedy series from Green Book Oscar winner Peter Farrelly that faded into the sunset after its streaming home, the now-defunct AT&T Audience Network, went offline for good in 2020.

More than six years later, however, the show starring Office Space‘s Ron Livingston as a curmudgeonly recovering alcoholic-turned-substance abuse counselor Sam Loudermilk has become a global hit shortly after debuting on Netflix.

According to Deadline, Loudermilk season 1 became one of Netflix’s top 10 most-viewed shows in the U.S. after debuting in mid-January — and stayed on that chart for four weeks, through February 4.

It even made the top four during the week of January 15-21, the trade reports.

The comedy also ranked on the top 10 in Canada, Australia, the U.K. and other territories.

The series, which sheds light on the camaraderie of addiction and recovery, had been available on Prime Video since 2021 — including its third season, which was shot and due to run in 2020, until AT&T’s streaming service disconnected.

However, Netflix’s global reach gave the series new life, according to the trade’s Katie Campione, who said “it’s really becoming clear that Netflix can do for a series what basically no other streamer can.”

Loudermilk is warming up so much, in fact, that Farrelly tells the trade that a fourth season could “easily” come together with the original cast — and quickly. He could shoot a 10-episode fourth installment in just eight weeks, he insists.