Nielsen lists top streamed shows in 2026

Nielsen released its first-half 2026 streaming rankings on August 4, putting Netflix’s “Stranger Things” at No. 1 overall in the United States through June 28. The measurement company said the show logged 23.26 billion viewing minutes, ahead of Disney+ title “Bluey” and HBO Max drama “The Pitt.” Today and Cox Media Group stations including WSB-TV highlighted the list on August 5 and August 6, respectively, after Nielsen published the underlying data. Nielsen said the top five titles together accounted for 108 billion viewing minutes, up 5 billion from the same point a year earlier. ### Which shows finished at the top of Nielsen’s list? Nielsen said “Stranger Things” led all streaming titles in the first six months of 2026 with 23.26 billion viewing minutes. “Bluey” ranked second overall with 22.81 billion minutes on Disney+, and “The Pitt” ranked third with 21.12 billion minutes on HBO Max. (nielsen.com) The Nielsen report said the rankings cover total viewing from Dec. 29, 2025, through June 28, 2026, and are based on total viewing minutes among people age 2 and older. The company said the data came from Nielsen Streaming Content Ratings, its program-level streaming measurement service. (nielsen.com) ### Why did “Stranger Things” finish first? Netflix’s “Stranger Things” held the top spot even though Nielsen said the show’s finale had been released six months earlier. Nielsen said the series set a weekly record of 8.65 billion viewing minutes during the week of Dec. 29, 2025, to Jan. 4, 2026, the same week as its series finale. (nielsen.com) Nielsen described “Stranger Things” as the most-watched streaming original of all time in its first-half report. The company said the show “managed to bring viewers of all ages together” as it edged “Bluey” for the overall lead. That characterization came from Nielsen’s report, not from the broadcasters that later summarized it. (nielsen.com) ### What stood out beyond the top three? Nielsen said three streaming originals placed in the top 10 overall, up from one in the first-half 2025 report. In addition to “Stranger Things” and “The Pitt,” the company listed “Landman” on Paramount+ and “Fallout” on Prime Video among originals showing second-season or continued momentum in the first half. (nielsen.com) WSB-TV said the top five titles combined for 108 billion viewing minutes, which it reported was 5 billion more than the comparable figure a year earlier. That station’s write-up matched Nielsen’s broader finding that franchise titles and family programming remained dominant across platforms. ### How is Nielsen measuring these rankings? (nielsen.com) Nielsen said the rankings reflect viewing on U.S. household televisions rather than all devices. The company’s streaming reports are powered by its Streaming Platform Ratings and Streaming Content Ratings products, which provide title-level and episode-level viewing metrics. Nielsen also said its measurement is drawn from panels representing U.S. audiences. (wsbtv.com) The company says those panels include tens of thousands of participating homes used to estimate broader media behavior. ### Where can readers see the full first-half rankings? Nielsen published the first-half 2026 report on August 4 in its “Streaming Landscape 2026: Trends from the First Half of the Year” release and companion insights page. (content.nielsen.com) Today summarized the headline result in a video segment that said “The Pitt” and “Bluey” were in the top three, while WSB-TV pointed readers to the same Nielsen data in its August 6 coverage. (panels.nielsen.com) August 6 coverage from Today and WSB-TV followed Nielsen’s August 4 publication, and Nielsen’s streaming reports page continues to host the company’s broader national streaming ratings materials. (today.com) (nielsen.com)