For the second season in a row, the biggest show on TV comes from Netflix, while CBS — despite a down year overall in primetime — had the most shows near the top of the ratings of any broadcast network.
Cross-platform ratings for the 2025-26 season (or about 83 percent of it, to be precise) show Stranger Things as by far the most watched series on all platforms, as measured over 35 days of viewing. The final season of the Netflix series averaged 32.9 million viewers in that amount of time — 7.3 million more than the second-place show, His & Hers (25.6 million). Those numbers are based on Nielsen data through April 12, the most recent week for which 35-day ratings are available.
Netflix claimed the No. 1 series for the second consecutive season. Squid Game led the 2024-25 rankings with 27.14 million viewers.
CBS’ Marshals is the top network show, ranking third overall with 20.7 million viewers through the midway point of its first season. Fellow CBS drama Tracker (16.4 million) and ABC’s High Potential (16 million) also rank in the top 10 across all platforms, including substantial streaming audiences.
Eight of the top 25 series across all platforms (excluding live sports) originated on CBS, with streaming on Paramount+. Netflix accounted for seven shows, all of which landed in the top 15 of the rankings. ABC shows (with streaming on Hulu and Disney+) have four of the top 25; Prime Video and Paramount+ originals have two each; and HBO Max and NBC/Peacock have one apiece.
Stranger Things 5 also led the charts in an earlier set of multi-platform ratings that measured audiences over 28 days. Those figures had the final season at 30.6 million viewers, meaning the additional week of measurement added 2.3 million people to the total. His & Hers grew by 1.4 million viewers, and Paramount+’s Landman added about 900,000 to total 19.8 million viewers.
Among just broadcast series, CBS had a little over half of the top 25, again not including sports. Were primetime NFL telecasts included, NBC’s Sunday Night Football (23.5 million cross-platform viewers) would rank first, and ABC and ESPN’s Monday Night Football (just under 16 million) would take fourth place.
The top 25 cross-platform shows of the season, measured over 35 days, are below.
Credit: Source link