The Most-Watched TV Series of 2025–26 Across Streaming, Broadcast & Cable Revealed
The 2025–2026 TV season has a clear winner, and it is not even close. The rankings come from Nielsen’s newer multiplatform system, which was introduced to better compare shows across streaming services and traditional TV. It also includes time-shifted viewing, meaning episodes watched later on streaming platforms still count toward a show’s total reach. However, sports programming like “Sunday Night Football” is not included in this list, even though it would still dominate overall live viewership.
The data only runs through mid-April, meaning some late-season releases could still shift slightly as more viewing numbers are added. Still, the overall picture is already clear as the TV season wraps up.
Taken together, the rankings show a competitive but very streaming-heavy landscape, with Netflix continuing to lead in total audience reach while broadcast hits still hold strong in key franchises and established networks.
Now, here is a closer look at America’s most-watched non-sports TV series of the 2025–2026 season.
10. Monster: The Ed Gein Story (13.4M viewers)
“Monster: The Ed Gein Story” is the third season of Netflix’s anthology crime drama series “Monster,” created by Ian Brennan. This installment focuses on convicted murderer and suspected serial killer Ed Gein, played by Charlie Hunnam. The season also features Suzanna Son, Vicky Krieps, Laurie Metcalf, and Tom Hollander, and explores not only Gein’s crimes but also how his story influenced Hollywood and wider pop culture through a meta commentary on true crime obsession.
The series continues the format of previous seasons, following “Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story” (2022) and “Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story” (2024). Unlike earlier entries, this season was not overseen by Ryan Murphy, with Ian Brennan serving as the sole creator and writer. Development on the Ed Gein-focused season was first announced in September 2024.
After its release on October 3, 2025, the season received largely negative reviews. Critics pointed to its heavy runtime, graphic violence, disjointed subplots, and questionable factual accuracy. The meta storytelling approach also drew criticism for not landing effectively. While Charlie Hunnam’s performance as Gein received mixed reactions, it still earned him multiple award nominations, including at the Golden Globes, Critics’ Choice Awards, and Actors Awards.
Despite the criticism, the anthology continues to expand, with a fourth season centered on Lizzie Borden currently in production.
9. The Pitt (13.8M viewers)
“The Pitt” is an American medical drama created by R. Scott Gemmill, with John Wells and Noah Wyle serving as executive producers. It reunites Gemmill, Wells, and Wyle, who previously worked together on “ER.” The series stars Noah Wyle alongside an ensemble cast including Tracy Ifeachor, Patrick Ball, Katherine LaNasa, and others.
The show is set in the emergency department of the fictional Pittsburgh Trauma Medical Center. Each season follows staff during a single 12-hour shift, with every episode covering about one hour in real time. The story focuses on the pressures of emergency medicine, including staff shortages, lack of funding, and the personal struggles of the medical team.
“The Pitt” premiered on January 9, 2025, on Max . It quickly received strong critical praise for its realism, writing, performances, and unique real-time format. Medical professionals also praised the series for its accurate portrayal of hospital life and the stress faced by healthcare workers after the pandemic.
The show was renewed for a second season, and a third season was also confirmed ahead of the second season’s release, showing strong confidence from the platform in the series’ future.
8. High Potential (16.0M viewers)
“High Potential” is a crime comedy-drama series created by Drew Goddard for ABC. It is based on the 2021 Franco-Belgian series “HPI.” The show stars Kaitlin Olson as Morgan Gillory, a highly intelligent cleaning woman who ends up working as a police consultant. Daniel Sunjata plays her partner Adam Karadec, and Judy Reyes plays Selena Soto, the head of their police unit.
The series first premiered on September 17, 2024. It follows Morgan as she uses her sharp mind and unusual perspective to help solve criminal cases while working alongside the police department.
The show was renewed for a second season in January 2025, which premiered on September 16, 2025. In March, ABC renewed “High Potential” for a third season, showing continued strong support for the series.
7. Tracker (16.4M viewers)
“Tracker” is an action drama series created by Ben H. Winters and based on Jeffery Deaver’s 2019 novel “The Never Game.” It stars Justin Hartley as Colter Shaw, a survival expert who travels to help solve cases for law enforcement and private clients in exchange for reward money, alongside a supporting cast including Robin Weigert and Fiona Rene.
The series is produced by 20th Television and was filmed in British Columbia, Canada. It premiered after Super Bowl LVIII on CBS in February 2024 and quickly became a success, leading to multiple renewals.
“Tracker” has continued to grow in popularity, with its second and third seasons airing in 2024 and 2025, and a fourth season already confirmed in 2026.
6. Bridgerton (18.3M viewers)
“Bridgerton” is Regency-era alternative history romance series created by Chris Van Dusen for Netflix and produced by Shondaland. Based on Julia Quinn’s novels, it follows the Bridgerton family as they navigate high society, romance, and social expectations during an alternate 19th-century London where racial equality exists within the aristocracy. The series features an ensemble cast and is narrated by Julie Andrews.
The show premiered in 2020 and has released multiple seasons, with the most recent arriving in 2026 in two parts. It has also expanded with the spin-off “Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story,” released in 2023.
“Bridgerton” has been widely praised for its performances, production design, costumes, and music, earning several Emmy Awards and other major nominations, along with strong critical and audience reception.
5. Landman (19.8M viewers)
“Landman” is a drama series created by Taylor Sheridan and Christian Wallace, inspired by the podcast “Boomtown.” It stars Billy Bob Thornton as Tommy Norris, a landman working in the West Texas oil industry, where companies and workers navigate high-stakes deals and dangerous conditions.
The series explores the impact of the oil boom on the economy, climate, and global politics, set against a rough and often tense environment. It premiered on Paramount+ in November 2024 and quickly gained enough success to earn multiple season renewals.
Despite some controversy, “Landman” has generally received positive reviews from critics and continues to expand with new seasons into 2025 and beyond.
4. Sean Combs: The Reckoning (20.6M viewers)
“Sean Combs: The Reckoning” is a documentary miniseries that focuses on sexual misconduct allegations against rapper Sean “Diddy” Combs. The series is directed by Alexandria Stapleton and produced by Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson. It was released on Netflix on December 2, 2025.
3. Marshals (20.7M viewers)
“Marshals” is a neo-Western police procedural series created by Spencer Hudnut. It serves as a spin-off and sequel to “Yellowstone” and is the fourth show in the franchise. The series brings back several original cast members, including Luke Grimes, Brecken Merrill, Mo Brings Plenty, and Gil Birmingham, alongside new cast additions.
It premiered on CBS on March 1, and follows law enforcement stories connected to the wider “Yellowstone” universe. The series was renewed for a second season shortly after its debut
2. His & Hers (25.6M viewers)
“His & Hers” is a mystery thriller limited series starring Tessa Thompson, Jon Bernthal, Pablo Schreiber, Rebecca Rittenhouse, and Sunita Mani. It is based on the 2020 novel by Alice Feeney and premiered on Netflix on January 8.
The story follows Anna, a former news anchor who is pulled back into a murder investigation in her hometown of Dahlonega, Georgia after hearing about a local killing. As she digs deeper into the case, she becomes entangled in buried secrets and unresolved parts of her past.
Her investigation puts her in direct conflict with Detective Jack Harper, her estranged husband, who is officially leading the case and begins to question her involvement.
1. Stranger Things (32.9M viewers)
Nielsen’s latest multiplatform rankings show that “Stranger Things” ended its final season as the most-watched series of the 2025–2026 TV season.
The Netflix thriller averaged 32.9 million viewers over a 35-day measurement window, according to Nielsen. That total puts it comfortably ahead of all other shows in the rankings and confirms its strong performance through the end of its run.
The data also highlights how the series dominated across both streaming and delayed viewing, benefiting from Netflix’s global reach and long-tail audience engagement after episodes were released.
Nielsen’s multiplatform chart is designed to compare streaming and traditional TV on the same scale, though it does not include sports programming like “Sunday Night Football,” which would still lead overall live viewing.
Even with that limitation, “Stranger Things” clearly stands out as the top non-sports series of the season, with a significant gap over the rest of the competition in total audience size.
Have something to add? Let us know in the comments!
