Stranger Things Continues to Reign Supreme Over Streaming TV
Stranger Things, the popular Netflix sci-fi series, has maintained its dominance over the television landscape even after the series finale. According to Nielsen’s biannual reporting, Stranger Things was the most-watched streaming title through the first six months of the year with a staggering 23.26 billion minutes viewed.
This impressive feat set several records in the weeks following the series conclusion, including the highest weekly viewing total in Nielsen’s streaming Top 10 history with 8.65 billion viewing minutes during the week of December 29. Stranger Things occupied a rare spot for a streaming original among the Top 10, which was dominated by linear-first titles.
Bluey, the beloved Disney+ series, secured the second spot with 22.81 billion minutes viewed. The Pitt, another popular HBO Max original, also crossed the 20 billion-minute threshold with 21.12 billion minutes viewed through the first half of the year.
Nielsen notes that the sophomore season of The Pitt saw a significant lift in viewership over Season 1, which was backed up by Warner Bros. Discovery’s own data in April. Bridgerton, the Netflix series, was the only other streaming original to place among the Top 10, coming in sixth with 17.15 billion minutes viewed.
Grey’s Anatomy and The Big Bang Theory, both linear-first titles, made a comeback to the Top 10, as they have been for several consecutive years. Both have driven over 20 billion minutes of viewership on streaming platforms from January through June.
Top 10 Streaming Titles in H1 2026
The Top 10 streaming titles in the first half of the year are:
- Stranger Things, Netflix, 23.26 billion minutes
- Bluey, Disney+, 22.81 billion minutes
- The Pitt, HBO Max, 21.12 billion minutes
- Grey’s Anatomy, Hulu/Netflix, 20.41 billion minutes
- The Big Bang Theory, HBO Max, 20.40 billion minutes
- Bridgerton, Netflix, 17.15 billion minutes
- Spongebob Squarepants, Paramount+, 16.89 billion minutes
- Family Guy, Hulu, 15.96 billion minutes
- Bob’s Burgers, Hulu, 15.01 billion minutes
- Paw Patrol, Prime Video / Paramount+, 13.56 billion minutes
While they didn’t make the cut for Top 10, Nielsen still gave kudos to Landman on Paramount+, which managed No. 13 overall with 12.4 billion minutes viewed, and Prime Video’s Fallout for its No. 9 placement with 7.98 billion minutes viewed.
Unscripted Streaming Originals Shine
Nielsen also notes a few unscripted titles that have managed to rank within the Top 20 most-streamed shows so far this year. Among them are Peacock’s The Traitors and Love Island USA, which lead the unscripted streaming original titles at 7.74 billion minutes and 7.62 billion minutes, respectively. They were also top shows among adults 18-34.
The First 48 took the unscripted streaming crown at No. 18 overall with 11.33 billion minutes viewed across Hulu, Peacock, and Pluto TV. Survivor also did very well on streaming with 9.36 billion minutes viewed on Paramount+.
