It looks like there’s only one English language program that grew its audience on Netflix in 2025, and it’s no surprise which one!
Trying to figure out streaming viewing numbers can be tricky. While platforms like Netflix will boast about a program's huge viewing numbers, those numbers can’t be tracked like traditional Nielsen ratings. There’s also how some viewers may just watch one episode of a show before deciding to continue. That makes it a lot harder to figure out the success rate.
Still, a new report courtesy of Netflix & Chiffres (via What's On Netflix) showed that almost every English-speaking Netflix show in 2025 saw a decrease in audience. The exception? Stranger Things.
Per the report, comparing the first 28 days of a new season against the timeframe of the previous season, season 5 of Stranger Things saw an increase of 2.25% over season 4. That’s incredibly impressive given the nearly three-year gap between seasons and the decision to split the final year into different parts.
This is proof of just how huge a deal this final season was and how it became such an event.
How does Stranger Things compare to other Netflix drops?
The report paints an intriguing picture of which Netflix shows performed better despite a viewership decline. Ginny & Georgia season 3 was down only 5% while The Diplomat was strong with 6.3%. In contrast, Wednesday season 2 dropped 42.6%, likely due to not being the meme-gathering social media surprise that the first year was. The comedy Nobody Wants This dropped 40.1% but remained a critical favorite. Emily in Paris dropped 20%, although it has earned a sixth season renewal.
Then there’s The Witcher, as season 4 saw a stunning fall of 52%, showing audiences weren’t keen on Liam Hemsworth taking over the lead role after the departure of Henry Cavill. The Sandman season 2 also saw a big drop with 60%, perhaps due to the long wait between seasons and controversy over creator Neil Gaiman. Black Mirror season 7 was down 21.4%, yet an anthology series isn’t the same as a regular show so it's harder to judge.
The biggest drop was the Arnold Schwarzenegger action-comedy FUBAR, whose second season collapsed by a stunning 75.9%. No surprise, it’s since been canceled.
For Stranger Things, the huge buzz about the final season and the long wait to see it no doubt aided its viewing success. It’ll likely remain in the top 10 for a while as more people check out the final episodes and debate the finale for a long time to come.
So on top of all else for Stranger Things, it can boast being the one English-language Netflix show that grew its audience in 2025 rather than see it shrink, further solidfying itself as a cultural mainstay.
All five seasons of Stranger Things are available to stream on Netflix.