Netflix ended 2022 with good results. According to Nielsen, the streaming platform dominated the viewership rankings for original series. In fact, each of the top 10 original series created by streaming platforms belonged to Netflix.
The most viewed original TV shows of 2022 on streaming, according to Nielsen. pic.twitter.com/XoPMm7l0JA
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Stranger Things took first place. Thanks to the summer launch of its fourth season, the series starring Millie Bobbie Brown achieved more than 52 billion minutes of streaming among its 34 episodes. This is the highest figure recorded in two years. In 2020, The Office (also available on Netflix) racked up 57.1 billion minutes of streaming, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
In a distant second was Ozark. The crime drama's 44 episodes were streamed for a total of 31.3 billion minutes.
Wednesday, starring Hispanic actress Jenna Ortega, finished in third place. The Addams Family spinoff's eight episodes gripped viewers, who dedicated 18.6 billion minutes to the show's first season.
The top 10 closes with Cobra Kai (16.7 billion minutes), Bridgerton (14 billion minutes), Virgin River (13.6 billion minutes), Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story (13.4 billion minutes), Love Is Blind (13.1 billion), Inventing Anna (12.9 billion) and The Crown (12.7 billion).
Old shows were also successful
Stranger Things not only occupies the first position among original series. Its fourth season also made the show the most watched by all Americans by a wide margin. It outperformed the second most-watched show (NCIS) by 36%.
The most-viewed TV shows on streaming overall in 2022, according to Nielsen. pic.twitter.com/4OMq9eDU6d
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However, despite the enormous success of original series, the Nielsen report reveals that national viewers remain loyal to long-running shows, per Variety. As previously mentioned, second place was occupied by NCIS. The CBS drama, available on Netflix, was viewed for 38.1 billion minutes among its 356 episodes.
This trend is not new. Variety recalls that in 2021, it was Criminal Minds (now in seventh place) that was the most-watched by American viewers, totaling 33.9 billion minutes.
In third place was the children's program CoComelon. Also available on Netflix, this show was watched by 37.8 billion minutes by viewers of all ages.
Followed by Ozark (31.3 billion minutes), the movie Encanto (27.4 billion minutes), Grey's Anatomy (26.8 billion minutes), the aforementioned Criminal Minds (24.9 billion minutes), Bluey (21.1 billion minutes), Gilmore Girls (20.8 billion minutes) and Seinfeld (19.3 billion minutes).
Streaming platforms growing
The Nielsen ranking also found that, in the United States, consumption of streaming content increased by 27%. In fact, the company claimed that "many original titles were responsible for twice the viewing time of top-performing acquired content in 2022," with "top-performing original content dramatically outpacing top-performing acquired content."
What is clear is the success of the various products broadcast on the different streaming platforms. As reported by THR, the Nielsen report claims that viewers in the nation as a whole devoted 19.4 million years to watching streaming platforms, just below 10.2 trillion minutes.
