Although the final chapter of “Stranger Things” has only just begun its rollout, the series has already eclipsed the massive milestones established during its fourth season.
Netflix previously announced that the first installment of the fifth and final season—consisting of four episodes—drew 59 million global viewers following its November 26 premiere. Since then, viewership has surged by an additional 23.6 million and continues to climb steadily.
Now, the audience measurement giant Nielsen has confirmed a historic breakthrough. For the tracking week of November 24–30, “Stranger Things” amassed a staggering 8.46 billion minutes of watch time—the highest figure ever recorded in the history of streaming data. This record is particularly impressive given that the new episodes were only available for four full days of that reporting period.
Because Nielsen traditionally aggregates data across a show’s entire catalog, the statistics include all 38 episodes. However, the report specifies that 57% of the total viewing time was driven exclusively by the new Season 5 content, accounting for approximately 4.82 billion minutes in the first four days post-release.
To put this dominance in perspective, the second-place title for the same week was Paramount+’s “Landman” with 1.34 billion minutes, followed by the Netflix limited series “The Madness” in third with 1.059 billion minutes.
Analysts point to the Thanksgiving release window as a masterstroke in scheduling. By debuting ahead of the holiday, Netflix capitalized on a massive captive audience during their time off, resulting in unprecedented engagement levels. Fans won’t have to wait long for the conclusion: the next wave of episodes arrives on December 26, with the grand series finale set for January 1.
Source: iXBT.games