Recommendations of the Editorial team
What started as a joke became a viral headline within hours: US streamer IShowSpeed (real name Darren Watkins Jr.) is said to have achieved the highest rating of all time on IMDb with one of his old live streams from 2021. This even surpasses the legendary “Breaking Bad” episode “Ozymandias”.
Fortnite star replaces Walter White
The episode comes from the fifth season of the acclaimed series and shows a desert duel between Walter White, Jesse Pinkman, Hank Schrader and a neo-Nazi biker gang. Not only did it become the highest-rated episode of the series, but according to IMDb users, it is also considered the highest-rated episode of any show ever.
However, that has now changed: The four-hour video called “Early Stream!” The Fortnite streamer received its own IMDb page from fans. In the video, Watkins Jr. merely played the game, but it inspired countless memes and gif reactions.
The fact that this actually insignificant live stream suddenly appears in the IMDb database is apparently thanks to the community: users entered the video manually and then rated it on a large scale. Within a very short period of time, the site received tens of thousands of 10 out of 10 reviews.
Internet joke with record impact
So far, over 5,000 fans have given a rating for the stream – more than 96 percent gave it full marks. Many people also took the opportunity to write detailed reviews in the classic IMDb style.
One review reads: “This film is an absolute masterpiece. I honestly can’t imagine how IShowSpeed could create something so creative, chaotic, and yet so perfectly structured. The energy is uninterrupted from start to finish, balancing intense moments with genuine humor.”
“The direction is surprisingly sharp and full of personality, proving that Speed isn’t just entertaining on stream – he’s a true visionary behind the camera,” reads another positive review. “Simply incredible and a wonderful work of art. Nothing comes close to the cultural impact this stream has on society and who we are today,” said another user. “I can’t put this film into words. Just cinema. It truly changed my life. I will never see anything more beautiful than this again,” wrote a third.
The meme behind the record
One of the highlights of the video was a particular Fortnite match where one of Watkins Jr.’s opponents was begging for victory. He explained that his mother was “basically homeless,” whereupon another player brought up the use of guilt – while Watkins Jr. tried not to burst out laughing. The clip has since been viewed more than four million times.
The scene quickly became a symbol of online culture on social media: In addition to traditional critics, algorithms and online communities are now increasingly determining what is rated as “good”. Watkins Jr.’s record is therefore less an expression of artistic quality than a satire on the rating system itself.
Thanks to all the excitement, Watkins Jr. has now found out who the player with the “quasi-homeless mother” is and has arranged to play a Fortnite game together on October 26th.