Ten shows stood tall on the charts above the others at the end of the year. Neilson Ratings tracked the success of both original and acquired tv shows on streaming in 2025. Here is their list of the most popular shows.
Did you stream any of these huge shows in 2025?
Stranger Things
The biggest original show of 2025 was the final season of Stranger Things. Even though fan reactions have been mixed on this final season, the world still tuned in to see the final battle in the Upside Down.
It’s unsure if the mixed fan and critical response to this season will affect the spinoffs that are down the pipeline. Will you still be watching the show now that the main series has ended?
Most of the show’s episodes streamed in 2025, but some also appeared in 2026 as the series finale aired on New Year’s Day. This split might have weakened Stranger Things‘ numbers on Nielsen.
Because Stranger Things was beaten out by two other shows for the top overall spot.
Bluey/SpongeBob SquarePants
The beloved kids’ show Bluey took the number one overall spot on the charts. So, tell the truth, are you watching Bluey as an adult? No judgment from me if you are.
This is the second year in a row that the Blue Heeler pup has topped the Nielsen charts.
Another longtime favorite kids’ show made an appearance on the chart with SpongeBob SquarePants. This legacy kid’s show ended up at number five on the overall charts.
Grey’s Anatomy
According to the Hollywood Reporter, the medical drama Grey’s Anatomy benefited from having a massive library of more than 450 episodes.
This library pushed it into the top ten overall most-streamed content of 2025, placing it in the number two spot.
Numbers like this make sense as to why ABC continues to pump out episodes of the series and add to its endless number of seasons.
Family Guy/Bob’s Burgers
Seth MacFarlane, creator of Family Guy, was given the streaming icon award from Nielsen due to his shows’ contributions to streaming success.
The number seven overall show, Family Guy, amassed more than 60 billion minutes of watch time last year, as reported by the Hollywood Reporter.
Another adult animated sitcom, Bob’s Burgers, appeared just before it in the number six position. Strangely, the original adult animated sitcom The Simpsons didn’t appear, even though it has so many episodes in its catalogue.
Squid Game
The number two original show was Netflix’s other most popular show, Squid Game. It clocked in at 22.41 billion minutes of watch time, according to Nielsen.
This is a considerable gap between the 39.95 billion minutes that Stranger Things had without even including the final episode.
Not much original content made it into the overall chart, which says something about the overall state of streaming at the moment. It seems that deep libraries of older content bolster the success of streaming just as much, or perhaps more than, an original show.
Or maybe these new streaming shows are sloppy and poorly put together.
The Pitt
This is one of the prime examples of appealing to the episode structure of normal broadcast television, while trying to fit it within the modern-day streaming context.
The Pitt clocked in at 22.41 billion by the end of the year. It was a dark horse this year, propelled by the fact that it’s just purely great television. However, this number still only placed it just outside the top 10.
Heated Rivalry
Another popular and talked-about show this year was Heated Rivalry. It was a gay-romance hockey show produced in Canada by Crave and streamed on HBO Max in the United States.
However, Heated Rivalry has had little impact on the Nielsen charts. It does not appear in their year-end charts. The show has been renewed for a second season and labeled a success by HBO Max.
During the show’s airtime, it didn’t enter the top ten of acquired shows on Nielsen. It has been a culturally relevant show, with the show’s co-stars appearing at several events. Social media word-of-mouth has also propelled Heated Rivalry in popularity.
Nielsen Streaming Charts
