Netflix Dominates the Latest Most-Watched Rankings, and ‘Lanterns’ Is Nowhere to Be Found
Streaming’s weekly ratings battle has become one of the most closely watched storylines in entertainment, with new titles constantly jockeying for the top spot across platforms. The latest snapshot of viewership, covering August 28 through September 3, once again shows just how dominant Netflix’s original programming has become in that fight.
According to Variety’s Boardroom rankings, which track estimated minutes watched across the industry, five titles stood out above everything else released that week. Four of those five spots belonged to Netflix, with only one outside series managing to crack the list.
Topping the chart was Season 3 of ‘Beauty in Black,’ Tyler Perry’s crime drama centered on the Bellarie family’s hair-care empire, which pulled in 1.6 billion estimated minutes watched. The season marked the show’s biggest debut week yet, both in viewership and ranking position, continuing Perry’s streak of turning his Netflix output into reliable ratings juggernauts.
Right behind it sat ‘Death of the Pastor’s Wife,’ the true-crime documentary series recounting the life of South Carolina worship leader Mica Miller, with 1.5 billion minutes watched. The three-episode series, which explores Miller’s toxic marriage and the abuse she endured before her death, has spent weeks dominating Netflix’s global charts since its debut.
The lone non-Netflix title to crack the top five was Season 4 of ‘Reacher,’ which brought in 1.1 billion minutes watched on Prime Video. Alan Ritchson’s action series has remained one of Prime Video’s most consistent performers, even as its Rotten Tomatoes audience score has cooled compared to earlier seasons.
Rounding out the list were Season 2 of Chuck Lorre’s sitcom ‘Leanne’ with 669.4 million minutes watched, followed by Season 5 of ‘Outer Banks’ at 647.8 million. Both shows have remained steady staples of Netflix’s roster, pulling in consistent numbers even without the kind of breakout buzz driving the titles ahead of them.
What’s notably absent from that list is ‘Lanterns,’ HBO Max’s big-budget DC Studios series starring Aaron Pierre and Kyle Chandler as intergalactic cops investigating a murder with cosmic ties. The show posted a strong premiere back in August, pulling in 9.3 million global viewers within its first three days and landing among the top five HBO Max series premieres of all time, even outperforming debuts like ‘It: Welcome to Derry’ and ‘The Penguin.’
That early momentum appears to have cooled significantly by late August into September, based on its absence from this particular week’s most-watched rankings. It’s a reminder that a hot premiere doesn’t always translate into sustained week-over-week dominance, especially when competing against an increasingly crowded field of true-crime documentaries and returning fan favorites.
The overall picture paints a clear portrait of where audience attention is currently concentrated: true crime and soapy family drama continue to pull massive numbers on Netflix, while even a high-profile superhero property with strong source material and a big streaming push can find itself edged out of the weekly conversation. For HBO Max, the challenge now becomes whether ‘Lanterns’ can rebuild that early momentum as its eight-episode season continues rolling out weekly.
With multiple new series and returning seasons still on the horizon across every major platform, these weekly rankings are likely to keep shifting fast, and this particular list is a strong signal of just how much staying power Netflix’s current slate has compared to the competition.
What do you think is the biggest reason ‘Lanterns’ is missing from the top five?
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