P Diddy Doc Tops Stranger Things, Sets New Netflix Record
Netflix viewers are flocking to 50 Cent’s Sean Combs: The Reckoning, which has surged to No. 1 in the U.S.—reportedly outdrawing Stranger Things despite the show’s record-breaking English-language premiere, according to Forbes.
Stranger Things just got knocked off its shiny new perch on Netflix by... a 50 Cent-produced Diddy doc. That did not take long.
What topped the charts
50 Cent's four-part documentary series 'Sean Combs: The Reckoning' hit No. 1 on Netflix in the U.S., edging out the fifth season of Stranger Things less than a week after the show's massive debut. Forbes flagged the switch, and tracking accounts like ScreenTime showed the doc at the top as of December 4, with Matt Rife's Christmas comedy special sitting at No. 3 and former No. 1 'The Beast in Me' down to fifth.
Will Eleven and the Hawkins crew bounce back up the Top 10 once everyone finishes the doc? Almost certainly.
Why everyone is watching this
Two reasons: the subject and the timing. The series walks through Sean 'Diddy' Combs' career and the allegations swirling around him, and it landed while he is serving time. Netflix's page describes the show as a deep dive built on access from the days before his 2024 arrest, which is a very specific window to be promising.
- Episodes 1, 2, and part of 3: his backstory and rise
- Rest of Episode 3 and Episode 4: the allegations and fallout
- Finale: interviews and commentary from accusers
Where Diddy stands legally right now
According to the reports, Judge Arun Subramanian sentenced Combs on October 3, 2025: 50 months in prison, a $500,000 fine, and five years of supervised release after he serves his time. He was recently moved from the Brooklyn Metropolitan Detention Center to FCI Fort Dix in New Jersey. His lawyers have filed appeal paperwork (per Billboard), and his current projected release date is June 4, 2028.
The pushback over the doc
Combs and his team publicly blasted Netflix for putting out 'Sean Combs: The Reckoning,' calling it a 'shameful hit piece' and alleging the production used 'stolen footage' that was never cleared for release (as reported by Variety). They also said Combs has been collecting his own footage since he was 19 to tell his story, accused the streamer of taking his words out of context, and took a shot at executive producer Curtis '50 Cent' Jackson as a longtime rival with an axe to grind.
Netflix, for its part, pushed back hard and got specific about what Jackson did and did not control.
'The claims being made about 'Sean Combs: The Reckoning' are false. The project has no ties to any past conversations between Sean Combs and Netflix. The footage of Combs leading up to his indictment and arrest were legally obtained. This is not a hit piece or an act of retribution. Curtis Jackson is an executive producer but does not have creative control. No one was paid to participate.'
Director Alexandria Stapleton also said the team secured the necessary rights for the footage used and reached out to Combs' legal camp before release, but did not receive a response.
The bottom line
A buzzy, four-episode doc about a hip-hop mogul under a microscope was always going to spike interest. The surprise is how fast it pushed past Netflix's biggest English-language premiere ever. Stranger Things will be fine; for now, the curiosity factor around Diddy wins the day.