‘Stranger Things,’ ‘DWTS’ Leads Ratings

TV audiences were high on the Upside Down this season. “Stranger Things” ended its final season with an average of 32.9 million viewers, easily making it the most-watched series of the just concluded 2025 26 TV frame. The Netflix thriller averaged that number over 35 days, per Nielsen’s multiplatform ranker.

Netflix also scored the previous season No. 1 with “Squid Game.” Nielsen introduced the multiplatform data last year, finally giving us an apples-to-apples comparison of how shows are doing on streaming versus linear. This chart doesn’t include sports series like “Sunday Night Football,” which would still be No. 1 (at least in linear), but does give us a clearer look at what truly were the most-watched regular series of the year.

Besides “Stranger Things,” that also meant Netflix’s “His & Hers.” Then came the most-watched broadcast show of the year according to the multiplatform ranker: CBS’ “Marshals,” the first broadcast show in the Taylor Sheridan “Yellowstone” universe, which posts 20.7 million viewers.

Keep in mind: This chart only goes to mid-April, so the numbers for new shows airing episodes in May could decrease. But as the season winds down, CBS also has “Tracker” in the top 10, while ABC has “High Potential,” HBO Max has “The Pitt” and Paramount+ has “Landman.” The rest of the top 10 are Netflix shows.

Meanwhile, Variety also has the more traditional season-ending live+7 ranker for broadcast and cable — and, of course, no surprise that NFL leads the charge. In total viewers, CBS’ “Tracker” is the top-rated entertainment show, while in 18-49, ABC’s “Dancing With the Stars” leads the charge. (Among interesting quirks of that chart: Four episodes of Fox’s “Universal Basic Guys,” which aired behind the NFL and were reported to Nielsen under a slightly different title, did huge as a result.)

Here are some highlights (and low lights) of the TV season, per the Nielsen rankers.

HIGHS

“The Pitt”: The HBO Max medical drama was a critical darling from the start, and became an awards powerhouse in Season 1 with a best drama win. But the show hadn’t yet morphed into a phenomenon with viewers last May — failing to make the top 100 in total viewers, and landing at No. 51 in the adults 18-49 chart. A year later, “The Pitt” is a top ten show, and it doesn’t even air on HBO’s linear channel.

“Dancing With the Stars,” “Survivor”: A lot has been made about how ABC’s celebrity dance competition has made a comeback, and the numbers don’t lie. Thanks to its growth in viral popularity, “DWTS” grew its multiplatform audience from 7.1 million last season to 9.8 million — tied with “Survivor” Season 50, which was up from Season 49 (7.8 million) and Season 48 (8.3 million). Meanwhile, in the L7 18-49 chart, “DWTS” and “Survivor” were the season’s top-rated entertainment shows.

Apple TV and Peacock: While Netflix continues to dominate among the pure streamers, and Prime Video, Paramount+ and HBO Max also have their fair share of original series, both Peacock and Apple TV landed more shows on the top 100 ranker this year. Peacock didn’t originate any of the total viewers shows last year; this year it has “All Her Fault,” “The Traitors” and “The ‘Burbs.” For Apple, last year it just had “Severance.” This year, the streamer broadened out with “Shrinking” and “Pluribus” making the chart.

Revivals and Remakes: ABC’s return of “Scrubs” and Hulu’s “Malcolm in the Middle” revisit, dubbed “Life’s Still Unfair,” paid off in the ratings. (“Scrubs” was the season’s top-rated new comedy in adults 18-49). Peacock’s reimagining of “The ‘Burbs” with Keke Palmer was a hit, and Fox found a way to reboot “Fear Factor” with Johnny Knoxville.

LOWS

“60 Minutes”: The only newsmagazine to reach the multiplatform top 100 shows of the 2025-26 season, it’s incredible to see “60 Minutes” remain a powerhouse in the ratings, even in Season 58. Given how successful and important “60 Minutes” has been to CBS News and broadcast journalism in general, it’s a shame to see the new leadership there completely dismantle it. CBS opting to cancel late night’s No. 1 talk show, “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert,” and severely wound the most-watched and acclaimed newsmagaine on television at the same time is quite a questionable strategy.

Canceled shows that overperformed: It’s sometimes a mystery when high-performing shows get the ax, and that was the case again this season with Netflix’s “Boots” (6.5 million), CBS’ “Watson” (6.4 million), Netflix’s “The Abandons” (5.8 million) and CBS’ “DMV” (5.7 million). Those shows all made it to the end-of-year top 100 list, yet were canceled for a variety of stated reasons. Some were blamed for pricey budgets or declining viewership. And in the case of “Boots,” there was some concern there was a politics angle as well. No matter the reason, they all performed better than many shows that are getting another season.

America’s most-watched TV series of the 2025-2026 season are …

TOP 100 BROADCAST/CABLE/STREAMING SHOWS OF 2025-26, TOTAL VIEWERS (35-DAY MULTIPLATFORM)

TOP 100 BROADCAST/CABLE TV SHOWS OF 2025-26, TOTAL VIEWERS (LIVE+7)

THE 100 TOP-RATED BROADCAST/CABLE SERIES OF 2025-26 (ADULTS 18-49)

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