Stranger Things Tops Nielsen Ratings, Boosting Landman, Fallout, and Pluribus as The Closer Shines on Netflix
During the Christmas week, U.S. audiences flocked to various streaming content, with Stranger Things leading viewership, according to Nielsen’s latest report.
Three new episodes from the fifth and final season dropped on Christmas Day, contributing to a substantial 6.89 billion minutes of viewing from December 22 to 28. This figure marks the third-largest weekly total ever recorded for both the Streaming Top 10 and for Stranger Things, which previously held the top two positions.
Nielsen does not differentiate viewing stats by season, but it is likely that Season 5 significantly influenced this surge in viewership. Netflix has indicated that earlier seasons were also popular during this period. Overall, Stranger Things generated over 15 billion viewing minutes in December.
Additionally, Landman saw a week-over-week increase, racking up 1.64 billion minutes viewed, placing it second among streaming titles this week. Notably, Nielsen highlights that Season 2 has attracted a higher percentage of female viewers compared to Season 1, with 49% compared to 46%.
In other notable performances, the series Fallout gained traction as its second episode premiered on Prime Video, showing a 16% increase in views week-over-week to reach 918 million. Of that number, 43% were from the new episode, solidifying its position at No. 3 on the originals chart and No. 7 overall.
Streaming service Netflix also experienced a surge with TNT’s cop drama The Closer, which debuted on December 22 and garnered 974 million minutes viewed, making it the top acquired title of the week.
Apple TV’s Pluribus achieved its best weekly total to date, reaching 483 million minutes, up 40% from the previous week, aided by the season finale’s release. Taylor Swift’s documentary series, The End of an Era, also gained momentum, hitting 377 million minutes viewed, with women aged 18-49 contributing 40% of the overall watch time.
Holiday films dominated the trends, with Home Alone leading the way. The classic film racked up 1 billion viewing minutes, marking the first time it surpassed this threshold during December.
Overall, this week in streaming showcased significant viewership trends and highlighted the continuing popularity of both new episodes and classic favorites during the holiday season.
