This Netflix Thriller Tops Stranger Things with 225 Million Views in 4 Years!

Our colleagues at Deadline recently published a top 20 list of the most-watched series on Netflix (2022-2026), based on a compilation of all the semi-annual viewership reports released by the platform. This list, as you will see, not only measures the impact of certain series but also maps the imaginations of viewers, and thus their mindset.

What can we learn from this top 20?

Reviewing the list compiled by Deadline, one thing immediately stands out. Almost all the series listed fall into just two categories: nostalgic fictions and thrillers.

Regarding nostalgia: three different seasons of Stranger Things are featured in the top, along with the two seasons of Wednesday and the adaptation of the manga One Piece. These worlds share the commonality of harking back to something familiar to viewers even before they start watching the series: the Addams Family (Wednesday), the One Piece universe, and 1980s movies (Stranger Things). These are referenced series that explicitly play on the audience’s nostalgia.

Thrillers, however, are not far behind, as they make up half of the ranking: Squid Game, His and Hers, Adolescence, The Gentlemen, Don’t Run Away… These are gripping fictions that toy with our deepest fears, whether they are relational (His and Hers, My Little Reindeer) or economic (Squid Game). These thrillers, unlike the nostalgic series, are all set in our current era.

In summary, Netflix viewers seem to frighten themselves with the present to find comfort in the past.

Explore the Top 20

1. Squid Game – Season 2: 225.4 million views

2. Adolescence: 171.6 million views

3. Squid Game – Season 3: 155.8 million views

4. Bridgerton – Season 3: 154.2 million views

5. Stranger Things – Season 5: 149.1 million views

6. Don’t Run Away: 138.3 million views

7. Ms. Rachel – Season 1: 137.5 million views

8. Wednesday – Season 2: 133.1 million views

9. Stranger Things – Season 1: 127.5 million views

10. Peppa Pig – Season 6: 127.4 million views

11. One Piece – Season 1: 125.6 million views

12. Wednesday – Season 1: 124.5 million views

13. The Gentlemen – Season 1: 105.8 million views

14. Young Sheldon: 104.2 million views

15. His & Hers: 104 million views

16. My Little Reindeer: 103.5 million views

17. La Palma: 102.3 million views

18. Stranger Things – Season 2: 101.8 million views

19. Squid Game – Season 1: 101.6 million views

20. Wild Nature – Season 1: 101.1 million views