The numbers are being tallied, and ratings agency Nielsen has come up with the most-watched streaming shows in 2025, at least halfway through the year.

The report is out via Bloomberg, and while a number of these are not likely to shock you, there are definitely some interesting surprises to be found. One story? Netflix is losing its total dominance in the space. In 2024, Netflix had 7 of the top 10 streaming series in the Nielsen list. This first half of 2025? They have four. Here’s the list:

– 7.8 million minutes watched – This is only the second debut season of a show that appears on this list, which should tell you something. This was a massive premiere for Paramount+, combining the charismatic Billy Bob Thornton with a traditionally blue collar Taylor Sheridan storyline. It worked well, it’s obviously coming back for more.

– 8.09 million minutes watched – I did not hear that many people talking about the You season finale, but given that this has been almost a decade in the making, it’s not a huge surprise to see how the serial killer story ended. But the finale got a whole lot of hate, even if it’s not quite a Dexter situation.

– 8.16 million minutes watched – Hulu’s only show on the list and I am not exaggerating when I say I thought this show ended years ago. That’s because it was literally years between the last two seasons, but enough people returned to make this a big moment for Hulu.

– 8.22 million minutes watched – This is HBO Max’s only entry, which is not a surprise, but I would almost expect it to be higher, despite being the other debut season besides Landman. A) this was a phenomenon in the US, without question about B) it’s 15 episodes long which should increase watchtime by itself. Season 2 will air just six months from now in January 2026.

8.53 million minutes watched – One of the lessons here is that Paramount+ should be taken more seriously as it’s putting up big shows with big numbers. Besides Netflix, it’s the only service with two shows on the list, including the second season of the Yellowstone prequel drama here.

– 9.27 million minutes watched – Speaking of phenomenon, after three years, Severance season 2 finally arrived and captivated audiences. Despite Apple TV+’s minimal market share, this blasted past that to become a huge hit. Hopefully it’s not three years until season 3.

– 10.2 million minutes watched – Another interminably long wait for Ginny and Georgia season 3 made it a must-watch when it returned for viewers. It may be Netflix’s most popular non-action-based series, and it has already been pre-renewed for season 4.

– 12.2 million minutes watched – I would consider this a sleeper series on Netflix, as it puts up enormous viewership with relatively little social fanfare. It’s the definition of “watchable,” not especially amazing, but appealing enough to a broad population to become really, really popular.

– 13.3 million minutes watched – Reacher’s a monster, and not just physically. I don’t think people understand this. This is a show that more or less does not leave the Amazon Prime Video top 10 list really…ever. I’ve seen this show go to #1 on the service 3-5 months after its last season ended. It’s just huge.

– 15.07 million minutes watched – No shock here. Squid Game season 3 set early viewership records for Netflix, its most-watched program in a short amount of time, and has already become its third most-watched non-English show ever, along with breaking into the overall top 10. There was not a real question about whether it would be here. However, the rest of 2026 will include Wednesday season 2 and Stranger Things season 5, which will duel for the overall crown, I believe.

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Pick up my sci-fi novels the Herokiller series and The Earthborn Trilogy