Ranked: The Netflix actors who gained the most Instagram followers after their shows

When you watch a new Netflix show, it’s almost like you’re on auto-pilot when you go straight to Instagram and search for the cast members. But, some actors seem to be a lot more popular than others, with millions of us heading straight to their Instagram pages after they appear in Netflix shows, and they’ve gained ridiculous amounts of followers from it.

For some reason I can’t quite work out, millions of us followed Regé-Jean Page after he debuted as the Duke, and collectively nearly 10million people followed the cast of Outer Banks straight after the first season came out.

Here is a ranking of the top actors in Netflix shows, by how many Instagram followers they gained in the first month after season one of their biggest show came out.

19. Lucien Laviscount – 456k

Lucien Laviscount joined Emily In Paris in season two, as Emily’s new love interest Alfie. I’m not at all surprised that over 450k people went straight to his Instagram in January 2022 and followed him. Same.

18. Nicola Coughlan – 641k

Nicola Coughlan is an extremely popular Bridgerton cast member, and gained 641k followers in the month season one came out. She had a slightly smaller spike in season two, but it’s since been announced that her character Penelope, and Colin Bridgerton, will be the season three leads – so her big spike is still pending!!

17. Maitreyi Ramakrishnan – 830k

Devi is our favourite hot mess in Never Have I Ever, and from the outset we all fell in love with her character and her ongoing bad life decisions. After season one was released, Maitreyi Ramakrishnan gained 830k Instagram followers.

 16. Jonathan Daviss – 960k

Outer Banks is now one of Netflix’s biggest shows, and all the cast members have shot into the realm of being Netflix royalty. After season one, Jonathan Daviss, who plays Pope, gained 960k followers.

15. Darren Barnet – 1million

The first actor to have gained over a million followers after their big Netflix break is Darren Barnet. Are we expected to believe there is any other reason behind this other than the amount of topless scenes he had in Never Have I Ever season one?

14. Felix Mallard – 1.2million

It’s totally fine to say you have a crush on Marcus in Ginny and Georgia and wish he’d sneak up and climb in through your window like he does with Ginny. Clearly lots of people felt this way, as Felix Mallard gained 1.2million followers in the month after the show’s first season premiered.

13. Madison Bailey – 1.6million

Up next is Madison Bailey, further proving that we’re all obsessed with the cast of Outer Banks. After season one, Madison, who plays Kiara, was able to secure 1,615,460 new followers on Instagram.

12. Jonathan Bailey – 1.6million

Season one of Bridgerton dropped in December 2020, and that month saw Jonathan Bailey gain 568k followers on Instagram. But, we simply have to give him the credit for when he was the show’s lead – he gained a further 1.6million when he was Anthony Bridgerton in season two.

11. Phoebe Dynevor – 1.7million

The world hasn’t quite been the same since Bridgerton season one, and Phoebe Dynevor played our diamond, Daphne. Straight after the show dropped, 1,744,045 people decided to follow her on Instagram.

10. Simone Ashley – 1.7million

In the battle of the Bridgerton leads, Simone Ashley comes out top. She joined the cast in season two as Kate Sharma, and in the month that followed gained 1.75million Instagram followers, making her *just* about more popular than season one’s lead, Phoebe Dynevor.

9. Anya Taylor-Joy – 1.8million

The Queen’s Gambit was one of Netflix’s biggest shows when it was released in 2020. It goes to show, because lead actress Anya Taylor-Joy gained a huge 1.8million Instagram followers in the first month after it premiered.

8. Rudy Pankow – 1.9million

Rudy plays King of our hearts, JJ, in Outer Banks. After season one of the show dropped, he gained a huge 1.9million followers.

7. Chase Stokes – 2.1million

Chase Stokes plays the lead in one of Netflix’s biggest teen dramas, so it’s no surprise he’s high up in the list. After season one of Outer Banks, he gained just over two million Instagram followers.

6. Lily Collins – 2.2million

Just out of the top five is Lily Collins – 2,241,308 people were obviously impressed with her social media skills after the first season of Emily In Paris.

5. Joe Locke – 2.5million

Ok, just thinking about Heartstopper again makes me well up a little bit. But, naturally, we all just want to follow what Joe Locke and the rest of the cast get up to for the rest of our lives. Before the show, Joe had around 100k followers on Instagram, and a month after the show he had 2.6million. So, in the first month following Heartstopper season one, he gained 2.5million Instagram followers.

4. Madelyn Cline – 2.7million

After season one of Outer Banks, Madelyn Cline saw the biggest spike in new followers out of all the show’s cast members. The actress who plays Sarah Cameron gained 2,738,547 followers in just one month.

3. Kit Connor – 3.5million

Kit Connor officially won our hearts after season one of Heartstopper. The same as co-star Joe, before the show, Kit had around 100k followers on Instagram. Flash forward a month and he had 3.6million. This means he had an overall gain of 3.5million followers in the first month after Heartstopper season one was released.

2. Regé-Jean Page – 3.7million

Are we at all surprised about who sits right near the top of this ranking? Regé-Jean Page *was* officially the Netflix actor who gained the most Instagram followers after their show came out, until very recently. After season one of Bridgerton, he saw a spike of a huge 3.7million followers. There’s no evidence to say this spiked after people watched season one episode five, but I’m sure it did (if you know, you know). 👀

1. Jenna Ortega – 11million

Jenna Ortega, queen of our hearts Wednesday Addams, has gained a pretty unstoppable 11million followers since Wednesday dropped on Netflix. According to Social Blade, she’s been gaining on average 365k a day – which is way way way over the record previously held by any other Netflix star. Jenna is the moment. End of.

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