Netflix’s Most-Watched Shows Hide A Harsh Truth For The Streamer

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Netflix is now the leading streaming service, consistently reviving older shows and turning them into popular hits. While other streaming services offer similar content, none have achieved the same level of success, effectively making Netflix the winner of the streaming competition.

Netflix has historically been hesitant to release detailed viewing figures, usually only sharing a weekly Top 10 list and keeping specific numbers private. However, they’ve recently begun publishing a report called What We Watched twice a year. The latest report shows that while Netflix continues to grow, there’s a surprising reality about the kinds of shows and movies that attract the most viewers.

Untamed Is The Only Original Show On Netflix’s Top 10 List For The Second Half Of 2025

Netflix’s recently released list of most-watched shows from the latter half of 2025 highlights a growing trend: truly original scripted series are becoming less common. Out of the top 10 shows, only one was a brand new series – Untamed, a crime thriller featuring Eric Bana as a special agent investigating cases in Yosemite National Park.

The remaining nine shows on the list already had a strong start thanks to established popularity, existing fans, or previous success on the platform. Shows like Wednesday, Stranger Things, and Squid Game benefited from returning with new seasons, which automatically brought back a large audience.

Shows like Reckoning benefited from public interest in Sean Combs, and Monster: The Ed Gein Story drew viewers in with its basis in a well-known true crime case. Interestingly, even Ms. Rachel initially used episodes that were first published on YouTube, a major rival to Netflix.

As a critic, I’m seeing a clear pattern with Netflix. They’re throwing a lot of money at big names – the Russo brothers, the creators of Game of Thrones, Shonda Rhimes, you name it – hoping to create the next big thing. But here’s the problem: all that spending on brand-new, original shows just isn’t paying off in viewership the way their older hits or true-crime documentaries do. They’re betting on star power, but audiences aren’t necessarily following. It really highlights the challenge Netflix is facing right now: how to build new, lasting franchises.

Netflix remains the leader in overall viewing time and continues to have the broadest reach and impact of any streaming service. However, its most popular shows tend to be sequels, reboots, or stories people already know, and it’s becoming harder for completely original series to gain traction.

Netflix’s Most-Watched Shows List Will Look A Lot Different In 2026

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Netflix’s list of the most popular shows for the latter part of 2025 is a little misleading. The company counts views for each season of a show separately, rather than for the entire series. Because of this, three seasons of Stranger Things and both seasons of Wednesday alone account for half of the top 10 spots.

I’ve been thinking about Netflix lately, and while they feel like the king of streaming, it’s starting to feel like they’re relying on past successes. Shows like Stranger Things and Squid Game have already finished their runs, and even though Wednesday is coming back, we won’t see new episodes until 2027 at the earliest. It’s a little worrying because the shows that consistently drew huge audiences are either over or won’t be around for a long time. It feels like a bit of a lull right now.

As a movie and TV fan, I’m looking at this two ways. On the one hand, maybe this shakeup will give Netflix space to launch some truly amazing new shows that could become the next big thing. But honestly, I’m a little worried – it feels like they might not have a ton of really strong, ready-to-go original series lined up for 2026 to take the place of what they’re losing.

Beyond Little Women, which hasn’t announced a release date yet, there aren’t many upcoming movies or shows that seem destined to be huge cultural events. For now, most of what’s coming out are returning favorites: the first part of Bridgerton season 4 arrives next week, The Night Agent is back in February, and One Piece and Virgin River follow in March. Beef returns in April.

Besides Bridgerton and One Piece (which benefits from its existing popularity), no other series currently has as dedicated a following as Stranger Things or Wednesday. When these long-running hits are gone, Netflix will face a significantly different landscape in 2026.

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2026-01-25 01:38