Stranger Things was the most-watched streaming title in the United States during the first half of 2026, racking up 23.26 billion minutes viewed, according to Nielsen's biannual streaming report Deadline, 2026-08-04. The Netflix series also set the highest single-week total in Nielsen's streaming Top 10 history: 8.65 billion minutes during the week of 29 December 2025.

Close behind was Bluey, the animated family favourite on Disney+, with 22.81 billion minutes. The Pitt, a medical drama on HBO Max, took third place with 21.12 billion minutes. Grey's Anatomy landed fourth with 20.41 billion minutes, split across Hulu and Netflix — a reminder that long-running library titles still pull enormous audiences on streaming.

Only three of the top ten were streaming originals — shows made specifically for a streaming platform rather than licensed from broadcast or cable. Those were Stranger Things, The Pitt and Bridgerton (No. 6, 17.15 billion minutes on Netflix). The rest of the top ten consisted of acquired titles: The Big Bang Theory (No. 5, 20.40 billion minutes on HBO Max), SpongeBob SquarePants (No. 7, 16.89 billion on Paramount+), Family Guy (No. 8, 15.96 billion on Hulu), Bob's Burgers (No. 9, 15.01 billion on Hulu) and PAW Patrol (No. 10, 13.56 billion across Prime Video and Paramount+).

What stands out is how thoroughly library content — older shows that found second lives on streaming — dominated the rankings. Seven of the top ten titles existed long before the streaming era. Viewers are not only chasing new releases; they are settling into familiar series for hours on end.

Bluey's near-miss at the top continues a remarkable run. The show was the overall most-watched streaming title in the US for the first half of 2025, with more than 25 billion minutes streamed, and it won Nielsen's ARTEY Award for Top Streaming Title of 2025, its second consecutive win, with 45.2 billion minutes across the full year Nielsen, 2025-07-14.

Among unscripted titles — reality and documentary series — The First 48 led the pack at No. 18 overall with 11.33 billion minutes viewed across Hulu, Peacock and Pluto TV. Among unscripted streaming originals, Peacock's The Traitors was No. 1 with 7.74 billion minutes, followed by Love Island USA, also on Peacock, with 7.62 billion. Survivor drew 9.36 billion minutes on Paramount+.

Stranger Things also led the broader 2025–26 broadcast, cable and streaming multiplatform season rankings, with 32.9 million total viewers measured on a 35-day multiplatform basis — meaning viewership across linear broadcast, cable channels and streaming platforms over five weeks after a premiere Variety, 2026-07-20. The series holds the four best weekly totals ever recorded in Nielsen's streaming charts Hollywood Reporter, 2026-01-29.

Nielsen published the first-half findings on its Insights page under the title "Streaming Landscape 2026: Trends from the First Half of the Year" Nielsen Insights. The rankings cover all streaming content — originals, movies and acquired series — measured by total minutes viewed in the US.