Stranger Things 5 Hits 34.5M Views as the Final Showdown with Vecna Approaches; Emily in Paris Holds Steady and The Great Flood Leads in Korean Drama
Stranger Things 5 soared to the top of Netflix’s weekly English series rankings last week, amassing 34.5 million views from December 22 to 28. This surge in viewership is primarily attributed to the release of three new episodes on Christmas Day.
Although this figure represents a decline compared to the week of Volume 1’s debut, it’s crucial to note that Netflix calculates views based on hours viewed divided by runtime. With the addition of more than three hours from the recent episodes, the overall performance of this second volume stands strong.
Establishing a direct comparison is challenging, as Netflix has not disclosed how much of the viewership originated from the new episodes. However, rough estimates suggest that these three episodes performed comparably to, if not better than, the first four episodes.
In the preceding week, Volume 1 alone had accumulated 8.2 million views. Since its premiere in November, Season 5 has achieved a total of 137.1 million views, placing it fourth among Netflix’s most popular English TV seasons of all time. The series will only be officially ranked once all episodes become available, with the finale scheduled for release on December 31 at 5 p.m. PT/8 p.m. ET.
All four prior seasons also made a comeback on the weekly Top 10, with Season 1 at No. 5 (4.8 million views), Season 2 at No. 9 (3.6 million views), Season 3 at No. 8 (3.6 million views), and Season 4 at No. 6 (4.1 million views).
In second place, Emily in Paris Season 5 garnered 13.3 million views, remaining consistent with its debut week. Third place went to Dave Chappelle’s new comedy special, The Unstoppable…, which attracted 9.2 million views.
Notably, the Korean disaster film The Great Flood presented a strong challenge to Stranger Things 5, securing the top spot on the non-English film list with 33.1 million views. In the English film category, Dr. Seuss’ The Grinch led with 16.5 million views, appealing to families during the holiday season. Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery followed closely in second with 11.8 million views.
The week also saw the enduring popularity of Kpop Demon Hunters, which, six months post-release, managed to attract 9.2 million views.
