By Gary Symons
TLL Editor in Chief
The evil creature Vecna may or may not succeed in taking over the world, but there’s no question the Netflix horror series Stranger Things already has.
The quirky series Stranger Things has smashed the record for streaming views, amassing 7.2 billion minutes of viewing for the week May 30 to June 5.
That’s the highest weekly total for any show since Nielsen began publishing weekly streaming rankings two years ago.
Stranger Things also has the highest two week rating for any streaming show. During the week of May 23-29, when season four of Stranger Things debuted, it notched 5.14 billion minutes of viewing for a two-week total of 12.34 billion minutes.
So how big a deal is that?
First, consider the fact that no show has ever reached 6 billion minutes in a single week. Only two shows, those being Tiger King and Ozark, had ever topped 5 billion minutes, but that was during the height of pandemic lockdowns.
Over the longer term, Netflix says viewers have tuned in for more than 930 million hours over the first. 28 days that Season 4 has aired.
It’s also worth looking at how Stranger Things ranked against its competition over the same period.
Notably, the past month has seen the show going head to head with some true contenders, including Disney’s highly rated Obi-Wan Kenobi and Prime Video’s superhero hit The Boys.
Despite the undeniable popularity of those shows, Stranger Things absolutely crushed them in the ratings, with its 7.2 billion minutes of viewing compared to Obi-Wan’s 958 million minutes, and 919 million minutes for the third season of The Boys.
It’s also worth noting, particularly as Netflix stock recently dropped due to its first-ever reported decline in subscriptions, that the streaming pioneer continues to dominate the sector in terms of viewers.
Netflix productions took seven out of the top 10 spots for original series, and the top eight out of 10 spots for acquired series.
Here is the list of the top 10 streaming series for May 30-June 5, according to Nielsen:
Original Series
1. 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
1. 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