“Monster,” the Ryan Murphy-created limited series starring Evan Peters as serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer, debuted on Nielsen’s weekly streaming rankings with 3.7 billion minutes watched from Sept. 19 to Sept. 25. This made it not only the No. 1 program of the viewing window, but the tenth most-streamed program in a single week ever recorded by Nielsen.
The series nabbed that chart position with only four days of availability on Netflix, having debuted on Sept. 21, halfway through the viewing window. The accomplishment is considerable, but unsurprising — Nielsen issues its streaming rankings with a four-week delay, whereas Netflix’s self-reported numbers indicated that “Monster” was the company’s No. 9 most-watched English-language TV series of all time after its first full week of availability, jumping to No. 2 most-watched ever in its second week.
Netflix titles have all 10 of Nielsen’s biggest streaming weeks ever. The only weeks beating the debut of “Monster” were surrounding the releases of “Tiger King” in 2020, “Ozark” Season 3 in 2020, “Ozark” Season 4 in 2022, and “Stranger Things” Season 4 in 2022. (Note: Nielsen combines all seasons of a show in its measurement; therefore, though these streaming weeks happened as a result of major releases, they include viewership of older seasons.) See below for a chart detailing each of the Top 10 streaming weeks.
It’s presumable that “Monster” will outdo itself next week and take another spot on Nielsen’s all-time list, considering that on the Netflix Top 10, the series debuted with 196.2 million hours viewed, then racked up 299.8 million hours in its first full week of availability. Netflix and Nielsen measurements aren’t completely comparable because the former measures viewing in all territories and on all devices while the latter measures only U.S. viewing on TV screens. Still, it’s unlikely that those discrepancies would prevent Nielsen’s measurement of “Monster” viewership from continuing to grow.
While “Monster” transcended even the top position on the weekly chart, there’s one series that notably failed to chart at all: the Disney+ series “Andor,” which marks the latest entry into the “Star Wars” franchise. Debuting on Sept. 21 with three episodes that run for approximately two hours combined, the series’ 624 million minutes watched wasn’t enough to make the overall Top 10, which includes titles acquired to streaming services after premiering elsewhere. However, “Andor” did manage to become the sixth most-watched streaming original.
Following “Monster” on the chart was “Cobra Kai,” which managed to cross the billion mark for the second week in a row. Netflix’s “Karate Kid” spinoff was watched for 1.1 billion minutes from Sept. 19-25, its second full week of availability.
“House of the Dragon” and “The Rings of Power” faced off for the fourth time, and this week was the first time that “House of the Dragon” came out on top. The “Game of Thrones” prequel took third place with 1 billion minutes watched, followed its “Lord of the Rings” opponent at No. 4 with 977 million minutes watched.
These are not perfect comparisons, as the two shows debut on different schedules and premiere in different formats. Nielsen is able to measure all U.S. viewing of “The Rings of Power” with its streaming rankings since the show lives exclusively on Amazon Prime Video, while an estimated one-third of “House of the Dragon” viewers remain uncounted on the chart thanks to the HBO’s cable airings. Conversely, “House of the Dragon” episodes debut on Sundays, meaning that they’re available for Nielsen’s entire viewing window and get the bonus of new episodes appearing at the end of the window, while the Friday release schedule for “The Rings of Power” means that new episodes are only available for the second half of the window.
Therefore, aided by its Sunday drops, this is the first time the “House of the Dragon” audience overpowered the streaming exclusivity and audience of “The Rings of Power.” Episode 5 of “House of the Dragon” debuted just before this viewing window began, and Episode 6 — which included the show’s highly anticipated time jump — became streamable a few hours before Nielsen stopped counting.
At No. 5 on the chart was “In The Dark,” a CW crime drama that aired its fourth and final season this summer before arriving on Netflix on Sept. 13. In its first full week of streaming availability, it was viewed for 918 million minutes, up from 825 million minutes when it debuted on the chart the week before.
“Cocomelon,” the children’s program that often makes the chart without debuting new content thanks to regular rewatching, landed in sixth place with 817 million minutes watched.
The Mark Wahlberg-led Stuart Long biopic “Father Stu” took the No. 7 position with 717 million minutes watched after arriving on Netflix on Sept. 16, five months after its theatrical debut. “Lou,” a Netflix original action film starring Allison Janney in the title role, followed as No. 8 with 681 million minutes watched.
“Fate: The Winx Saga” was watched for 685 million minutes in Season 2’s first full week of availability on Netflix, earning the ninth position.
And as No. 10 was “El Rey, Vincente Fernández, a Netflix original series from Colombia, with 648 million minutes watched — making it a rare non-English language entry in the streaming rankings.
After the chart of Nielsen’s Top 10 streaming weeks ever, see Nielsen’s newest Top 10 streaming rankings below, with overall streaming titles for Sept. 19-25 first, followed by original streaming titles, acquired titles and then films.
