[Taking a long drag on a cigarette] Yeah. Yeah, I used to be there. For the streaming wars. I keep in mind all of it. I keep in mind seeing each single studio launching its personal service. I keep in mind web sites getting in on the sport. I keep in mind the weird, cockeyed optimism of the {industry}, the thought that audiences for streaming media would do nothing however develop and develop with out finish. I keep in mind the pandemic locking everybody inside and forcing them to subscribe to each service, solely additional bolstering that {industry} optimism.
[Taking a shot of whiskey] I keep in mind Quibi. I keep in mind CNN+. I keep in mind Fb Watch. I keep in mind YouTube Crimson. I keep in mind PlayStation Vue. I keep in mind HBO Go, HBO Now, HBO Max, and simply Max. I keep in mind Crackle, and all the opposite casualties. I keep in mind when Paramount+ had six “Star Trek” exhibits working concurrently. I keep in mind all of it. I see the Quibi emblem every time I shut my eyes, man.
[Turning to you on my barstool] And I keep in mind the autumn. I keep in mind the tip of the struggle. Because of the tip of the pandemic quarantines and the industry-rattling expertise strikes of 2023, every part got here crashing down. Streaming companies both shuttered or started massively curbing manufacturing on authentic exhibits and flicks. Only some giants survived. Apple TV and Prime Video had been secure, as that they had large pc and supply industries (respectively) recouping any losses.
However the actual winner of the struggle — the colossus that stands astride the streaming {industry} — was Netflix. The proof is within the pudding now. As reported by Selection, six of the ten most-watched streaming exhibits had been authentic Netflix productions. They occupy the highest three spots. The struggle is over, and Netflix stays the champion.
[Stomps out cigarette] And that’s that.
Netflix put out six of the ten most-watched streaming TV exhibits of 2025
In line with Selection, referring to the Nielsen charts, the three most watched authentic TV exhibits of 2025 had been the sci-fi horror sequence “Stranger Issues,” the dystopian drama “Squid Sport,” and the “Addams Household” spin-off “Wednesday.”
“Stranger Issues,” as most readers may know, is a nostalgia-driven sequence about youngsters within the Nineteen Eighties discovering a portal to a harmful dimension populated by demons. The primary season initially debuted in 2016, however years-long gaps began appearing between seasons because the present’s stars turned busy on different tasks due to their newfound fame. The fifth and remaining season of “Stranger Issues” dropped on the finish of 2025, and it attracted an unlimited viewers. Over the yr, “Stranger Issues” racked up a powerful 39.54 billion minutes of viewing time in america, with 25.1 billion of these, as Selection identified, coming from the fifth season alone. Regardless of manufacturing delays, “Stranger Issues” by no means misplaced its followers.
The South Korean import “Squid Sport” was in second place after “Stranger Issues,” however its numbers had been far decrease. With 22 episodes to its identify, the present racked up solely 22.41 billion minutes in 2025. That is nothing to sneeze at, after all, nevertheless it’s a far cry from the “Stranger Issues” juggernaut. Each “Squid Sport” and “Stranger Issues,” nonetheless, had the audience-grabbing benefit of unveiling their remaining seasons in 2025. That meant they had been primarily offering grand finales, and viewers turned out in droves.
“Wednesday,” in the meantime, racked up over 20 billion minutes of viewing time over the identical body. That feat was truly a bit of extra spectacular, because it solely has two seasons and 16 episodes to fall again on proper now.
How did Netflix do it?
“Wednesday” is exclusive among the many above three titles in that it had the strongest pedigree entering into. The present, as talked about, is a spin-off of “The Addams Household” and had blockbuster director Tim Burton on the helm. “Stranger Issues” additionally had celebrities concerned — most notably Winona Ryder — however “Wednesday” was recognizable I.P. Maybe that, together with a viral dance development, pushed “Wednesday” up the charts.
And Netflix’s victories do not finish there. The sequence “Ginny & Georgia,” with 30 episodes, was the sixth most-watched sequence. “The Evening Agent,” Netflix’s FBI-based thriller sequence, got here in at eighth. And Netflix scorched the Earth with the recognition of “Love is Blind,” a courting actuality present the place contestants attempt to type romantic connections with out ever seeing their potential mates. (They impart in, primarily, telephone cubicles.) That sequence asw the ninth-most-watched sequence on streaming in 2025.
Netflix can technically even declare a seventh spot on the highest 10 checklist, because it broadcasted the youngsters’s present “Gabby’s Dollhouse.” That sequence, although, can also be on Prime Video, and its numbers, as reported by Selection, appear to come back from each Netflix and Prime mixed.
Total, although, Netflix appears to have received the struggle due to its range. None of its hits are something like every of its others. There’s something for everybody. Netflix possible received the Streaming Wars as a result of it behaved like a daily TV community. There’s lots to select from.
As for non-Netflix exhibits in 2025’s high 10, one can look to Paramount+’s “Landman” within the #4 spot. Prime Video equally claimed the #5 spot with “Reacher,” primarily based on the profitable Jack Reacher novel sequence by Lee Baby. And, maybe embarrassingly, Peacock squeaked into the #7 spot with its lascivious courting sequence “Love Island USA.”
Yeah, Netflix received this struggle.
