‘Stranger Things,’ ‘Bluey’ & ‘The Pitt’ Dominate Streaming TV In H1 2026; Peacock Rates High With Unscripted Originals
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- Stranger Things topped Nielsen's H1 2026 streaming rankings with 23.26 billion viewing minutes, having set the all-time weekly streaming record of 8.65B minutes during the week of December 29 after its series finale.
- Bluey placed second overall with 22.81B viewing minutes, while The Pitt crossed the 20B-minute threshold at 21.12B — Nielsen noted the HBO Max sophomore season saw a significant viewership lift over Season 1, a claim Warner Bros. Discovery backed with its own data in April.
- Bridgerton was the only other streaming original in the Top 10, ranking sixth at 17.15B minutes — a total Nielsen attributed in part to this year's Season 4 release.
- The Top 10 was dominated by linear-first titles, with Grey's Anatomy (20.41B on Hulu/Netflix) and The Big Bang Theory (20.40B on HBO Max) both clearing 20B minutes for the first half, alongside animated stalwarts SpongeBob Squarepants (Paramount+), Family Guy (Hulu), Bob's Burgers (Hulu), and Paw Patrol (Prime Video/Paramount+).
- Just outside the Top 10, Landman landed at No. 13 overall with 12.4B minutes on Paramount+, while Prime Video's Fallout placed No. 9 in its category at 7.98B minutes.
- Peacock's The Traitors (7.74B minutes) and Love Island USA (7.62B) led unscripted streaming originals and ranked as top shows among adults 18-34, while A&E's The First 48 took the overall unscripted streaming crown at No. 18 with 11.33B minutes across Hulu, Peacock, and Pluto TV.
Why it matters: Nielsen's midyear chart underlines a structural reality for streamers: only Stranger Things, Bluey, The Pitt, and Bridgerton cracked the Top 10 as true streaming originals, meaning six of the ten most-watched titles are library IP that started on broadcast or cable — a reminder that so-called 'streaming wars' still lean heavily on legacy programming audiences already know.
