Stranger Things rules TV season as Marshals leads broadcast pack
Nielsen’s final 35-day multiplatform figures put Netflix on top overall, while CBS dominated broadcast with four of the top five shows.
By Poppy Nakagawa · Culture Writer
3 min read
Netflix’s Stranger Things finished the 2025-26 TV season as the most-watched non-sports series across broadcast, cable and streaming, according to Nielsen’s final 35-day multiplatform ratings reported by Variety.
The monster hit drew 32.9 million viewers in the measurement, putting it well ahead of the rest of the field after Nielsen counted viewing across linear TV and streaming over 35 days.
Netflix also took the next two spots. His & Hers landed at No. 2 with 25.6 million viewers, while Sean Combs: The Reckoning ranked third with 20.6 million.
Paramount+’s Landman followed at No. 4 with 19.8 million viewers. CBS’ Marshals, also available through Paramount+, was fifth overall with 19.3 million and finished as the season’s biggest broadcast show.
Paramount Network’s Dutton Ranch came in sixth with 19.2 million viewers and was the only cable series to appear in the overall top 25, according to the Nielsen analysis. Variety noted that Taylor Sheridan had three series in the top 10.
Streaming packed the top of the chart
The overall top 10 showed just how hard streaming titles hit during the season. After Stranger Things, His & Hers, Sean Combs: The Reckoning, Landman, Marshals and Dutton Ranch, Netflix’s Bridgerton ranked seventh with 18.3 million viewers.
CBS’ Tracker took eighth with 16.3 million, ABC’s High Potential was ninth with 16.0 million, and HBO Max’s The Pitt closed out the top 10 with 13.8 million.
Other shows in the overall top 25 included Netflix’s Monster: The Ed Gein Story, Prime Video’s Fallout, Netflix’s The Beast in Me, Netflix’s The Boroughs, Netflix’s The Lincoln Lawyer, CBS’ Matlock, CBS’ Sheriff Country, ABC’s The Rookie, CBS’ Ghosts, ABC’s Will Trent, Paramount+’s The Madison, CBS’ NCIS, CBS’ Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage, NBC’s Chicago Fire and ABC’s Dancing With the Stars.
CBS had the broadcast muscle
On broadcast alone, CBS owned the top two slots with Marshals at 19.3 million viewers and Tracker at 16.3 million, according to Nielsen’s multiplatform data.
ABC’s High Potential ranked third among broadcast programs with 16.0 million viewers. CBS then took the next two slots with Matlock at 11.2 million and Sheriff Country at 10.9 million.
CBS also had the season’s top-rated broadcast comedy by total viewers with Ghosts, which drew 10.2 million. Variety reported that four new CBS series made the broadcast chart and ranked as the top four new shows: Marshals, Sheriff Country, Boston Blue and CIA.
ABC had wins in the adults 18-49 demographic, according to Variety’s report on the Nielsen figures. High Potential was the most-watched series in that demo, while Abbott Elementary led comedies among adults 18-49.
The 2025-26 broadcast season ran from Sept. 14, 2025, through May 24, 2026. Nielsen’s figures used 35-day multiplatform viewing and excluded series or specials with fewer than four telecasts.
This story draws on original reporting from Variety.