Stranger Things leads Nielsen H1 2026 streaming ranks; Bluey trails on Disney+

The H1 2026 top line

Stranger Things held the top streaming slot in Nielsen's first-half 2026 ranking with 23.26 billion viewing minutes from December 29, 2025 through June 28, 2026, capping its five-season run with the label of most-watched streaming original of all time in Nielsen's panel measurement. The series also set a Streaming Top 10 record of 8.65 billion viewing minutes for the week that included its series finale.

Disney+'s Bluey in second place

Bluey was the second most-watched streaming title overall and the leading acquired title, with 22.81 billion viewing minutes on Disney+. The placement puts a Disney+ property within roughly 0.45 billion minutes of the chart leader and makes Bluey the only Disney-distributed series to crack the overall top tier of Nielsen's first-half report.

How the competitive field shaped up

Three streaming originals made the overall top 10 in the first half of 2026, up from one in the comparable 2025 report, according to Nielsen. Five titles exceeded 20 billion viewing minutes across the half, compared with two in the prior-year period. Beyond the top three, Grey's Anatomy (Hulu/Netflix) logged 20.41 billion minutes and The Big Bang Theory (HBO Max) 20.40 billion, followed by Bridgerton on Netflix at 17.15 billion, SpongeBob SquarePants on Paramount+ at 16.89 billion, Family Guy on Hulu at 15.96 billion, Bob's Burgers on Hulu at 15.01 billion, and Paw Patrol across Prime Video and Paramount+ at 13.56 billion.

Linear-first titles still dominate the chart

The bulk of the top 10 consisted of shows originally built for linear television, with streaming originals such as The Pitt (HBO Max, 21.12 billion minutes) and Bridgerton occupying a narrower footprint. Nielsen's acquisition tracking also placed The Pitt as the second most-watched original series, with its sophomore season posting a lift over season one per Warner Bros. Discovery data cited in earlier reporting.

Categories outside the overall top 10

Nielsen's unscripted cuts tracked separately: The First 48 ranked eighteenth overall with 11.33 billion viewing minutes across Hulu, Peacock, and Pluto TV, while Peacock's The Traitors (7.74 billion) and Love Island USA (7.62 billion) led unscripted streaming originals and ranked strongly among adults 18-34. On the movie side, Disney+'s Zootopia 2 led kids titles at 6.54 billion minutes, with Netflix's KPop Demon Hunters second in the category at 5.59 billion minutes, and Netflix's The Rip leading general-audience films at 4.43 billion minutes ahead of War Machine at 3.53 billion minutes.

What Nielsen has not yet released

Nielsen's Streaming Landscape 2026 report covers viewing through June 28, 2026, and the company has indicated the full-year list of top streaming programs is scheduled for release in early 2027, leaving the second half of 2026 and any post-finale Stranger Things tail not captured in this ranking.