Netflix has become the de facto baseline streaming service, able to make even old shows into new hits when they hit the platform. The streaming wars are over, and Netflix has won, with every other service that focuses primarily on scripted content competing for a distant second place.
Netflix has always been reticent to share streaming data, preferring to publicize a Top 10 list while keeping the exact numbers internal. This has changed recently, with the streamer now at least sharing the What We Watched report twice a year. The latest report reveals that while Netflix keeps growing, there is a harsh truth behind what type of content draws viewers to the streaming powerhouse.
Untamed Is The Only Original Show On Netflix’s Top 10 List For The Second Half Of 2025
Netflix’s latest most-watched list for the second half of 2025 makes one thing clear: original scripted hits are increasingly rare. Of the Top 10 titles, only one was a new, fully original series: Untamed, the Netflix crime thriller starring Eric Bana as a National Park Service ISB special agent working cases in Yosemite.
The other nine entries on the list came with built-in IP, existing fan bases, or platform history. Wednesday, Stranger Things, and Squid Game all returned with new seasons, guaranteeing massive carryover audiences.
Reckoning leveraged real-world fascination with Sean Combs, while Monster: The Ed Gein Story tapped into true-crime familiarity. Even Ms. Rachel consisted of compilation episodes that originally lived on YouTube, Netflix’s biggest competitor.
That lineup underscores Netflix’s current challenge. The streamer spends aggressively on splashy new projects with established creative muscle, including high-profile deals with the Russo brothers, David Benioff and D.B. Weiss, Shonda Rhimes, and other top talent, yet recent attempts at launching fresh scripted IP rarely reach the viewership heights of legacy titles or real-life stories.
Netflix still dominates total viewing hours, and it absolutely wins the platform wars in reach and influence. But the composition of its Top 10 list shows that audiences largely show up for returning franchises or pre-sold concepts, while brand-new scripted ideas struggle to break through.
Netflix’s Most-Watched Shows List Will Look A Lot Different In 2026
Netflix’s Top 10 most-watched list for the back half of 2025 is skewed by how the company counts viewership by season, not by series. That means three seasons of Stranger Things and both seasons of Wednesday take up five of the 10 slots on their own.
It paints a picture of dominance, but it’s a backward-looking one. Stranger Things and Squid Game have both concluded, and while Wednesday season 3 has started filming, it isn’t expected to arrive until 2027 or later. Netflix’s most reliable heavy hitters are either done or unavailable for the next two years.
The optimistic read is that this creates more breathing room for new original programming to break out. The pessimistic read is that Netflix doesn’t currently have a deep bench of exciting new original TV shows for 2026 ready to fill the gap.
Outside of Little Women, which still doesn’t have a release date, there isn’t much in the pipeline that feels like a clear cultural hitter. Instead, the near-term slate is dominated by returning titles: Bridgerton season 4, part 1 drops next week, The Night Agent returns in February, One Piece and Virgin River follow in March, and Beef in April.
Except for Bridgerton and One Piece (more so because of the source material), none have the established fanbase of Stranger Things or Wednesday. Without the old titans, 2026 is going to look very different for Netflix.
Source: Netflix
- founded
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January 16, 2007
- founders
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Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph
