With 23.26 Billion Minutes Viewed, Netflix Series Achieves Rare Streaming Feat

Courtesy of Netflix Published Aug 4, 2026, 12:38 PM EDT Rianna is the Movie News Editor for ScreenRant. After earning her BA in Film Studies, she began her career as an entertainment writer, contributing to several publications before joining ScreenRant. Her dissertation on the impact of streaming on traditional cinema sharpened her focus on the ever-evolving world of film and media. With 10 years in the industry, Rianna continues to cover the stories she loves while also advocating for awareness and representation of rare disabilities, such as Moebius Syndrome, which she lives with. Sign in to your ScreenRant account Netflix'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.