The Queen's Gambit (2020)
Beth Harmon makes her move.
In a 1950s orphanage, a young girl reveals an astonishing talent for chess and begins an unlikely journey to stardom while grappling with addiction.
| Type | TV series |
|---|---|
| First aired | 23 October 2020 |
| Status | Ended, last episode 23 October 2020 |
| Genre | Drama |
| Created by | Scott Frank and Allan Scott |
| Starring | Anya Taylor-Joy and Chloe Pirrie |
| Seasons | 1 season, 7 episodes |
| Episode length | about 59 min |
| Time to watch it all | about 7 hours |
| Rated | TV-MA |
| Scores | TMDB users 8.4/10 |
Where to watch The Queen's Gambit
The Queen's Gambit is streaming on Netflix ($17.99 a month) in the US. At ten hours a week, all of the series takes about 1 month of Netflix, or $17.99 at list price.
We check availability daily. Page last updated 1 October 2026. Prices are standard monthly plans and change often, so check with the service before you sign up.
What kind of watch this is
The Queen's Gambit is a 7-episode drama that runs about 7 hours total. It follows a young woman in the 1950s who discovers a talent for chess while grappling with addiction. The tone is solitary and intense, focusing on the weight of genius and the cost of fame. It is a tight, self-contained story that does not require a weekly commitment to finish. The pacing is deliberate, letting the viewer sit with the silence of the board. It is a rare series that feels like a single, long conversation with a character who has nothing to hide and everything to lose.
What the critics said
Critics mostly agree it is a win. Rotten Tomatoes reports a 96% approval rating based on 104 reviews, while Metacritic scores it 79 out of 100, which it labels generally favorable. Anya Taylor-Joy’s performance anchors the praise, though not everyone bought the whole package. Alan Sepinwall gave it 3 out of 5 stars, noting the story feels padded before the end. The substance abuse theme drew specific pushback, too. Lilly Dancyger felt the portrayal of drug use nearly ruined the show for her. A minor stumble in the details, it seems.
How it did with audiences
Netflix reported that 62 million households watched the series by November 2020. That figure earned it the label of the platform's biggest scripted limited series. It also held the top spot on Nielsen's U.S. streaming rankings for three consecutive weeks, a first for any series. Scott Frank stated he was "delighted and dazed" by the response. Audiences clearly preferred a chess queen to a baby learning colors, though Cocomelon still took the yearly prize.
What came next for the cast
Anya Taylor-Joy came from Split and Peaky Blinders. She followed with The Menu, The Northman, and Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga. Marcin Dorociński stepped from Anthropoid into Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One and Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning. The credits list these shifts. They do not prove causation. They just show what came next.
If you liked this
TMDB's recommendations for people who watched The Queen's Gambit.
Sources
- The Queen's Gambit on TMDB — synopsis, cast, ratings and recommendations
- Wikidata Q85808226 — review scores, box office and awards (CC0)
- “The Queen's Gambit (miniseries)” on Wikipedia, by its contributors (history) — reception, audience figures and legacy, summarised and adapted here under CC BY-SA 4.0
- Where to watch and prices: Binge Boss, from TMDB watch-provider data (powered by JustWatch) and our own provider list
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