With 23.26 Billion Minutes Viewed, Netflix Series Achieves Rare Streaming Feat
Courtesy of NetflixNetflix's series dominated the rest.
Netflix continues to dominate streaming with its catalog of movies and series, including its own originals. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph, it began as a mail-order rental service and launched its video streaming service in 2013, before growing into a streaming juggernaut with a reported 320 million subscribers. Now, Netflix has become the go-to for streaming content, and the proof comes with the latest report showing one Netflix series dominating the rest.
According to Nielsen's biannual reporting, Netflix's sci-fi series Stranger Things dominated the first six months of 2026 with an eye-watering 23.26 billion minutes viewed. This placed the series at the top of the table, beating other titles such as Bluey and Family Guy. Stranger Things set many records upon the release of its final season, including the highest weekly viewing total with 8.645 billion minutes streamed.
|
Series |
Platform |
Minutes Viewed |
|---|---|---|
|
Stranger Things |
Netflix |
23.26 billion |
|
Bluey |
Disney+ |
22.81 billion |
|
The Pitt |
HBO Max |
21.12 billion |
|
Grey's Anatomy |
Hulu/Netflix |
20.41 billion |
|
The Big Bang Theory |
HBO Max |
20.40 billion |
|
Bridgerton |
Netflix |
17.15 billion |
|
SpongeBob SquarePants |
Paramount+ |
16.89 billion |
|
Family Guy |
Hulu |
15.96 billion |
|
Bob's Burgers |
Hulu |
15.01 billion |
|
Paw Patrol |
Prime Video/Paramount+ |
13.56 billion |
Stranger Things has been a major success for Netflix since its release nearly 10 years ago. The cast included unknown young stars with big Hollywood name Winona Ryder attached, and due to the success of the series, the seemingly unknown cast exploded in popularity with Sadie Sink cast in one of the biggest box office triumphs of the year so far, Spider-Man: Brand New Day. Stars such as Millie Bobby Brown and Caleb McLaughlin are names celebrated recently due to appearances in new projects, and the success seems never-ending.
Stranger Things creators Matt and Ross Duffer aren't quite finished with the franchise just yet, and have released a spinoff titled Stranger Things: Tales from '85 as well as revealed plans for future sequel series and spinoffs. Brown has made it clear that she would love to return to her role as Eleven/Jane Hopper after her ending was left ambigious, with fans unclear if she met a gruesome end or is now living a safe and happy life.
Stranger Things is available to stream on Netflix now, and at the time of writing, the Duffer brothers haven't revealed when future series will be released.