Given the records Stranger Things has already set since the premiere of its fourth season, one more isn’t that much of a surprise. But the new mark the Netflix series hit is a big one.
Stranger Things amassed 7.2 billion minutes of viewing time for the week of May 30-June 5, according to Nielsen — the highest weekly total for any streaming title since the advent of weekly rankings almost two years ago. It also has the biggest two-week tally for any streaming show: In the week of May 23-29, when season four of Stranger Things premiered, it had 5.14 billion minutes of viewing for a two-week total of 12.34 billion minutes.
Previously, no streaming show measured by Nielsen had ever reached 6 billion minutes in a single week, let alone 7 billion. only Tiger King (twice) and Ozark in the spring of 2020 — amid pandemic lockdowns — had topped 5 billion minutes prior to Stranger Things.
Nielsen counts all episodes of a series in totaling its streaming rankings, but it’s likely that the vast majority of the 7.2 billion minutes came from the seven episodes of season four released on May 27. The ratings service had previously noted that more than 75 percent of the show’s 5.14 billion minutes the week of May 23-29 came from season four.
Stranger Things has also become the most watched English language series on Netflix, per the company’s internal metrics. The streamer says its subscribers have watched more than 930 million hours worldwide over season four’s first 28 days.
Disney+’s Obi-Wan Kenobi also had a strong second week with 958 million minutes of viewing time, nearly matching the 1.03 billion for its premiere week. The Boys also re-entered the top 10 after debuting its third season on June 3; the Prime Video series had 919 million minutes of watch time.
The CW’s all american also scored with the Netflix release of its fourth season, easily leading the acquired series chart with 1.25 billion minutes of watch time. HBO Max also makes its debut on the charts, with The Big Bang Theory (352 million minutes) and friends (346 million) among the top 10 acquired shows.
Nielsen’s streaming ratings cover viewing on TV sets only and don’t include minutes watched on computers or mobile devices. The ratings only measure US audiences, not those in other countries, and currently only include Apple TV+, Disney+, HBO Max, Hulu, Netflix and Prime Video.
Nielsen’s top streaming series for May 30-June 5 are below.
Original Series
one. Stranger Things (Netflix), 7.2 billion minutes viewed
2. The Lincoln Lawyer (Netflix), 966 million
3. Obi-Wan Kenobi (Disney+), 958 million
4. The Boys (Prime Video), 919 million
5. Ozark (Netflix), 644 million
6. Wrong Side of the Tracks (Netflix), 291 million
7. Grace and Frankie (Netflix), 271 million
8. night sky (Prime Video), 242 million
9. Workin’ Moms (Netflix), 215 million
10. Floor Is Lava (Netflix), 214 million
Acquired Series
one. all american (Netflix), 1.25 billion minutes
2. NCIS (Netflix), 692 million
3. Cocomelon (Netflix), 615 million
4. Criminal Minds (Netflix), 558 million
5. Gilmore Girls (Netflix), 438 million
6. Grey’s Anatomy (Netflix), 388 million
7. supernatural (Netflix), 367 million
8. outlander (Netflix), 364 million
9. The Big Bang Theory (HBO Max), 352 million
10. friends (HBO Max), 346 million