The Big Bang Theory Unlocks Major Streaming Milestone For First Time In Series History

Published Aug 29, 2026, 2:02 PM EDT Brennan Klein (he/him) is a senior news writer at Screen Rant, host of the Attack of the Queerwolf podcast, and contributor at Alternate Ending and Horror Press. He has been writing and podcasting about pop culture (especially horror movies) for over a decade at platforms including Blumhouse, Fangoria, Dread Central, The Backlot, and Arrow in the Head. Sign in to your ScreenRant account The Big Bang Theory has now accomplished a streaming milestone that it has never done before. The smash-hit CBS sitcom, which ran for 12 seasons and 279 total episodes from 2007 through 2019, followed a group of nerdy friends - Leonard (Johnny Galecki), Sheldon (Jim Parsons), Raj (Kunal Nayyar), and Howard (Simon Helberg) - bonding with Leonard and Sheldon's waitress neighbor Penny (Kaley Cuoco), though The Big Bang Theory cast later expanded to include Mayim Bialik, Melissa Rauch, Kevin Sussman, and more. Over the years, the show earned 55 Emmy nominations (winning 10) and seven Golden Globe nominations (winning one). Per The Hollywood Reporter, Nielsen has now released their official streaming chart for the week of July 27 through August 2, 2026. The Big Bang Theory claimed the No. 1 spot on the Overall Top 10 (which measures both series and movies) thanks to an accumulated 1.141 billion minutes viewed across its 281 episodes. While the sitcom is a mainstay on the Nielsen streaming charts (it earned more than a billion minutes during the two previous weeks as well), this marks the first time that it has topped the Overall chart since the company began measuring streaming ratings in 2020. The Big Bang Theory Remains As Popular As Ever Nielsen's Top 10 Streaming Overall (July 27 - August 2) Rank Title Minutes Viewed #1 The Big Bang Theory (HBO Max) 1.141 billion #2 Bluey (Disney+) 911 million #3 The Devil Wears Prada 2 (Disney+/Hulu) 885 million #4 House of the Dragon (HBO Max) 884 million #5 The Idaho Murders: College Nightmare (Netflix) 864 million #6 Ransom Canyon (Netflix) 816 million #7 SpongeBob SquarePants (Paramount+) 793 million #8 Ride or Die (Prime Video) 786 million #9 The Super Mario Galaxy Movie (Peacock) 777 million #10 Grey's Anatomy (Hulu/Netflix) 737 million This streaming accomplishment comes more than seven years after the show went off the air, proving that it is still a tremendous ratings phenomenon. Although it became a success relatively slowly, once it gained steam, it barely ever slowed down. During its original run, the first two Big Bang Theory seasons had average viewership counts of 8.31 million and 10.03 million respectively, but they started rising rapidly starting with season 3, which had an average of 14.22 million viewers. Season 5 hit 15.82 million, and no subsequent season ever dropped below 15 million. Ultimately, the show peaked with the 20.36 million average of season 9. That season had episodes that ran for roughly 20 minutes apiece, so that number of viewers would give the show a weekly average viewership of 407.2 minutes, which is less than half of what the show as a whole has managed to pull in on streaming more than a decade later. The Big Bang Theory's Spinoffs Are Also Dominating Streaming Naturally, given the fact that it is such a zeitgeist-defining ratings hit, there are now numerous Big Bang Theory spinoffs. At the time of writing, there are three, namely the prequel series Young Sheldon (which ran for seven seasons between 2017 and 2024), the Young Sheldon sequel Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage (which debuted in 2024 and has been renewed for season 3), and the multiversal sci-fi comedy Stuart Fails to Save the Universe (which debuted in 2026 and has been renewed for season 2). All three shows have proven that they are worthy successors to The Big Bang Theory by becoming streaming hits in their own right. In fact, at the time of writing, Stuart Fails to Save the Universe is the No. 2 most-watched television series of the day worldwide on HBO Max while Young Sheldon is No. 11 on Starz. Additionally, George & Mandy's First Marriage was in the Top 10 on HBO Max in the United States as recently as August 24. Release Date 2007 - 2019-00-00 Network CBS Showrunner Mark Cendrowski Directors Mark Cendrowski Writers Chuck Lorre, Bill Prady Franchise(s) The Big Bang Theory Seasons 12 Story By Chuck Lorre and Bill Prady