The final season of Stranger Things it’s more than the end of television—it marks the end of Netflix’s first period of ascent. Since its debut in 2016 (when its child actors still looked like real children), Stranger Things it was the most popular TV series behind only Game of Thrones. Its ability to drive subscription growth, generate addictive viewing hours, and mint money has cemented Netflix’s rise as a powerful programming medium.
Streaming is a hits-driven business, and every major player needs a tentpole series to bolster their results. As Stranger Things closes, let’s identify the best active TV series of the broadcast season. Using a combination of views, revenue, longevity and franchise strength, here are the shows that made their best Atlas impressions by elevating their broadcasters.
Netflix: Stranger Things
In 2022, Stranger Things was 52 billion (!) most-streamed minutes in the US (No.2 was Ozark with 31.2 billion minutes), according to Nielsen. Even after three years without new episodes, it ranked as the 17th most watched original broadcast (5.4 billion minutes) in the first half of 2025. The four-episode Season 5 premiere in November drew the largest first-week global audience for an English-language Netflix series—only the second-longest Squid game Season 2 premiere.
After nine years on top of the pop-culture group, he whispers of spinoffs, prequels and other expansions are ongoing. However, creators Ross and Matt Duffer left Netflix for more money at Paramount, leaving Netflix without a clear heir.
Squid game it actually generated estimated global revenue for Netflix ($180 million from Q4 2024 to Q3 2025, including subscriber retention and new subscriber acquisition, per Parrot Analytics). It was also the second most-watched broadcast in 2021 (16.4 billion minutes) in its debut and the ninth most-watched show in the first half of 2025 (15 billion minutes). But it’s over now.
WednesdayThe second season became the fourth most-watched English series on Netflix, but it was down 50 percent compared to Season 1. The Adams Family The IP is owned by Amazon MGM, Netflix cannot capture its full value.
If he is not there Stranger Thingsthe market-leading broadcaster is facing a gap in its release calendar without an obvious fill-in.
Amazon Prime Video: Boys
Like Netflix, Amazon is nearing the end of its flagship run. A hyper-violent superhero satire Boys will end after its upcoming fifth season, ranking in the Top 15 original broadcasts twice (in 2022 and 2024). The question is how high this powerful IP can fly.
Amazon is planning a prequel series set in the 1950s (Vought Rising) and the Spanish language series (Boys: Mexico). But the former spin-offs are an animated anthology Satan (one season) and its live-action counterpart Gen V (two seasons)—didn’t take off even though it was very popular.
Fortunately for Amazon, Shortcut emerged as Amazon’s next heavyweight in its first three seasons. In 2024, it ranked 10th among Nielsen’s US broadcast sources (10.6 billion minutes) and rose to fifth place in 2025, according to Samba TV’s. Broadcast status report (releasing new seasons every year helps maintain audience momentum). This made it Prime Video’s biggest TV hit last year, with an estimated $132 million. A spinoff was ordered to series in October.
Disney+: The Mandalorian
The Mandalorian helped the launch of Disney+ exceed expectations in the platform’s first year of existence. As of 2020, it has twice been on Nielsen’s most-watched series while becoming a linchpin of the streamer’s small screen. star Wars the whole place.
This May, the show will make the jump to the big screen The Mandalorian & Groguthe first big screen Star Wars outing since 2019 is disappointing Rise of Skywalker. Translating TV fandom into theater ticket sales is far from guaranteed, but the power of the brand ensures a high level.
The big question: Does this movie mean the end of the series? If so, Disney+—which has struggled to create more live-action hits than the aging Marvel once again star Wars headers—requires a new flag. Andor ($138 million in estimated revenue last year) was a serious surprise, but wrapped up its two-season run without reaching the same high viewership.
That said, with Hulu now fully integrated into Disney+, the upcoming seasons of FX Shogun it can appear as the next tent of the broadcaster.
HBO Max: The White Lotus
HBO titles make up only 14 percent of HBO Max’s library, but drive more than 18 percent of its audience demand, according to Parrot. The premium cable network is flagship television a symbol. Yes, it continues to deliver streaming value. The White Lotusin all its original esoteric glory, it may now be the ultimate service title.
Samba TV named it the most-streamed US show of 2025 with the fourth-largest two-week viewership of the year. From January to June, the classic murder mystery anthology was Nielsen’s 16th most-watched series on broadcast (11.5 billion minutes) and generated an estimated $124 million for HBO Max last year, according to Parrot.
Production on Season 4 is expected to begin in 2026 in France.
Apple TV: Separation again Ted Lasso
This is a toss up.
Ted Lasso transformed the original identity of the née Apple TV+, from a feel-good sitcom to a hit drama. It ranked as the 12th most-watched game of 2021 (8.1 billion minutes) and the top-grossing 2023 (16.9 billion), per Nielsen, despite the broadcaster’s small subscriber base. But Season 3 closed the first chapter, and while the sequel continues—with returning cast members, but a new on-screen football team—it’s unclear whether Ted Lasso it will remain a juggernaut after a long wait.
Instead, it’s a heady thriller Separation was a smash hit in its second season. In the first half of this year, it was the fifth most-watched original broadcast (9.2 billion minutes), per Nielsen, and led all Apple TV shows in estimated revenue ($146 million), per Parrot. Apple calls it always high series based on unique viewers in the first month of its second run. However after a gap of almost three years, another long wait is approaching before Season 3.
