2026 began with Paramount+’s “Landman” leading the TV total for the first five weeks of the year, followed closely by ABC’s “High Potential.” With CBS’ major programming on hiatus at the beginning of the year, ABC led in January with the most series in the top 20 (with eight other series including “Will Trent,” “The Rookie,” “American Idol,” “9-1-1,” “Shifting Gears,” “9-1-1: Nashville” and “Abbott Elementary.”)
Other series in the top 10 included Netflix’s “Bridgerton” and “His & Hers,” and the NBC duo “Chicago Fire” and “Chicago Med.”
ABC had the top three series for adults 18-49 at the start of the year with “High Potential,” “The Rookie” and “Abbott Elementary.”
Total linear and streaming viewers, first month of 2026 (January 1, 2026 to February 8, 2026)
Linear Adults 18-49, first month of 2026 (January 1, 2026 to February 8, 2026)
ABC is looking to build on its success in early 2026 by adding the midseason premiere of “Scrubs” (which opened to 11.4 million viewers in five days), “RJ Decker,” which premiered on Tuesday, and “Celebrity Jeopardy! All Stars” (ABC), which will be rebroadcast on Fridays.
It’s worth noting that “Fear Factor” and “Memory of a Killer” were exposed to a wide audience thanks to their premieres behind the scenes NFL coverage. Additional shows have also returned since early February, including “The Voice” (NBC), “FBI” (CBS), “CIA” (CBS), “Survivor” (CBS), “Georgie and Mandy’s First Wedding” (CBS), “Ghost” (CBS), “Matlock” (CBS), “Elsbeth” (CBS), “Sheriff Country” (CBS), and “Fire Country.” (CBS), “Boston Blue” (CBS), “Tracker” (CBS), “Watson” (CBS), “NCIS” and its spinoffs (CBS).
Meanwhile, as a follow-up to Variety’s recent survey of Nielsen’s fall multiplatform ratings, we present our latest survey of the first month of midseason with rosters from season to date. CBS’ “Tracker” remains at the top, followed by ABC’s “High Potential” and CBS’ “Matlock.” But next on the list is ABC’s “Will Trent” and “The Rookie,” which premiered their seasons in January.
Linear total viewers, season to date (September 22, 2026 to February 8, 2026)
Linear Adults 18-49 through this season (September 22, 2025 to February 8, 2026)
Source: Nielsen 2025-2026 Season (September 22, 2025 – February 8, 2026), cross-platform analysis of Nielsen Linear + SCR data based on viewing and streaming FSD for 7 days from linear broadcast date. Also includes preseason premieres. Broadcasts only original series. Minimum of 2 television broadcasts. Excludes sports, specials, news, and repeats. Linear based on Nielsen’s updated Big Data Plus panel sample.
