{"id":507421,"date":"2026-05-28T19:41:08","date_gmt":"2026-05-28T19:41:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/507421\/"},"modified":"2026-05-28T19:41:08","modified_gmt":"2026-05-28T19:41:08","slug":"most-popular-tv-shows-2025-26-netflixs-stranger-things-leads-ratings","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/507421\/","title":{"rendered":"Most Popular TV Shows 2025-26: Netflix’s Stranger Things Leads Ratings"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\t\u201cStranger Things<\/a>\u201d ended its final season with an average of 32.9 million viewers, easily making it the most-watched series of the just concluded 2025-2026 TV season. The Netflix<\/a> thriller averaged that number over 35 days, per Nielsen\u2019s multiplatform ranker.<\/p>\n

\n\tNielsen introduced the multiplatform data last year, finally giving us an apples-to-apples comparison of how shows are doing on streaming vs. linear \u2014 and how those broadcast shows are benefiting via time-shifted viewing on their streaming partner. This chart doesn\u2019t include sports series like \u201cSunday Night Football,\u201d which would still be No. 1 (at least, in linear), but does give us a more interesting look at what truly are the most-watched regular series of the year.<\/p>\n

\n\tBesides \u201cStranger Things,\u201d that also meant Netflix\u2019s \u201cHis & Hers.\u201d Then came the most-watched broadcast show of the year: CBS\u2019 \u201cMarshals,\u201d the first broadcast show in the Taylor Sheridan \u201cYellowstone\u201d universe, which posts 20.7 million viewers.<\/p>\n

\n\tKeep in mind, this chart only goes to mid-April, so some of the numbers for new shows still airing fresh episodes in May could decrease. But as the season winds down, CBS also has \u201cTracker\u201d in the top 10, while ABC has \u201cHigh Potential,\u201d HBO Max has \u201cThe Pitt\u201d and Paramount+ has \u201cLandman.\u201d The rest of the top 10 are Netflix shows.<\/p>\n

\n\tStay tuned, Variety will expand this chart and dissect the highs and lows shortly.<\/p>\n

\n\tAmerica\u2019s most-watched non-sports TV series of the 2025-2026 season are \u2026<\/p>\n

\t\tTop Shows of 2025-2026 (Total Viewers, Multiplatform 35-Day Ranker)<\/strong>\t<\/p>\n\nRank<\/td>\nTitle (Network\/SVOD)<\/td>\nTOTAL 35- DAY MULTIPLATFORM VIEWERS (Millions)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\n1.<\/td>\nStranger Things<\/strong> (Netflix)<\/td>\n32.9<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\n2.<\/td>\nHis & Hers <\/strong>(Netflix)<\/td>\n25.6<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\n3.<\/td>\nMarshals <\/strong>(CBS\/ Paramount+)<\/td>\n20.7<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\n4.<\/td>\nSean Combs: The Reckoning <\/strong>(Netflix)<\/td>\n20.6<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\n5.<\/td>\nLandman<\/strong>\u00a0(Paramount+)<\/td>\n19.8<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\n6.<\/td>\nBridgerton<\/strong>\u00a0(Netflix)<\/td>\n18.3<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\n7.<\/td>\nTracker<\/strong>\u00a0(CBS\/ Paramount+)<\/td>\n16.4<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\n8.<\/td>\nHigh Potential<\/strong> (ABC\/ Disney)<\/td>\n16.0<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\n9.<\/td>\nThe Pitt<\/strong> (HBO Max)<\/td>\n13.8<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\n10.<\/td>\nMonster: The Ed Gein Story<\/strong>\u00a0(Netflix)<\/td>\n13.4<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\n11.<\/td>\nFallout<\/strong> (Prime Video)<\/td>\n13.3<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\n12.<\/td>\nThe Beast In Me<\/strong> (Netflix)<\/td>\n12.7<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\n13.<\/td>\nMatlock<\/strong> (CBS\/ Paramount+)<\/td>\n11.5<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\n14.<\/td>\nThe Lincoln Lawyer<\/strong> (Netflix)<\/td>\n11.4<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\n15.<\/td>\nSheriff Country <\/strong>(CBS\/ Paramount+)<\/td>\n10.8<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\n16.<\/td>\nThe Rookie<\/strong> (ABC\/ Disney)<\/td>\n10.6<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\n17.<\/td>\nGhosts<\/strong>\u00a0(CBS\/ Paramount+)<\/td>\n10.5<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\n18.<\/td>\nWill Trent<\/strong> (ABC\/ Disney)<\/td>\n10.4<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\n19.<\/td>\nThe Madison<\/strong> (Paramount+)<\/td>\n10.2<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\n20.<\/td>\nNCIS<\/strong>\u00a0(CBS\/ Paramount+)<\/td>\n10.0<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\n21.<\/td>\nChicago Fire<\/strong> (NBC\/ Peacock)<\/td>\n9.9<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\n\nGeorgie & Mandy\u2019s First Marriage<\/strong> (CBS\/ Paramount+)<\/td>\n9.9<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\n\nThe Boys <\/strong>(Prime Video)<\/td>\n9.9<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\n24.<\/td>\nDancing With the Stars <\/strong>(ABC\/ Disney)<\/td>\n9.8<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\n\nSurvivor 50 <\/strong>(CBS\/ Paramount+)<\/td>\n9.8<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

Source: Analysis of Nielsen Multiplatform Data; Big Data P2+ Prime AA, L+35, 9\/14-4\/12\/2026 + Nielsen SCR, 35-Day Total Flight for streaming. Does not include series with less than 4 telecasts, sports or specials.<\/p>\n

\t\tHISTORICAL CHART RECORDS:<\/strong>\t<\/p>\n

\n\t2012-2013 TV season<\/a><\/p>\n

\n\t2013-2014 TV season<\/a><\/p>\n

\n\t2014-2015 TV season<\/a><\/p>\n

\n\t2015-2016 TV season<\/a><\/p>\n

\n\t2016-2017 TV season<\/a><\/p>\n

\n\t2017-2018 TV season<\/a><\/p>\n

\n\t2018-2019 TV season<\/a><\/p>\n

\n\t2019-2020 TV season<\/a><\/p>\n

\n\t2020-2021 TV season<\/a><\/p>\n

\n\t2021-2022 TV season<\/a><\/p>\n

\n\t2022-2023 TV season<\/a><\/p>\n

\n\t2023-2024 TV season<\/a><\/p>\n

\n\t2024-2025 TV season<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u201cStranger Things\u201d ended its final season with an average of 32.9 million viewers, easily making it the most-watched…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":507422,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[265],"tags":[18,117,114930,19,17,127,27613,128,13522],"class_list":["post-507421","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tv","tag-eire","tag-entertainment","tag-his-hers","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-netflix","tag-stranger-things","tag-tv","tag-tv-ratings"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/507421","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=507421"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/507421\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/507422"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=507421"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=507421"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=507421"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}