Digital Ratings: Viewership results for the sci fi and fantasy shows on the streaming services. See our Cancellation Watch posts for the linear ratings from the broadcast networks and cable shows.
Nielsen Streaming Top 10
Amazon’s The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power entered the Nielsen Streaming Rankings for the week of August 29th to September 4th and it topped the charts. It hit the Number 1 slot in the Top 10 for originals with an estimated 1.3 billion minutes of viewing. HBO’s competing epic fantasy series House of the Dragon was also in the charts that week, holding at the Number 3 slot in the Top 10 for acquired shows with 781 million minutes of viewing. That does not include the linear and delayed viewing on HBO, though, so it is hard to get a precise comparison between the two. The LOTR prequel premiered of Thursday that week with two episodes available, so the per episode viewership is pretty impressive for its premiere. But House of the Dragon has been performing well with its linear numbers, so both shows are off to a good start and both have already been renewed for a second season.
Netflix’s Stranger Things slipped to Number 3 in the Top 10 for originals that week with 667 million minutes of viewing while Disney+’s She-Hulk improved to Number 6 with 472 minutes of viewing. Netflix’s The Sandman slipped to Number with 432 million minutes viewed and could be out of the charts after five weeks. There still is no word on a second season of that show. The Apple TV+ post-apocalyptic series See had its third season premiere the prior week but has not made it into the charts yet. Following are all the sci fi and fantasy TV shows on the streaming charts for the week (the number in parenthesis is the prior week rank):
Nielsen Streaming Rankings for the Week of Aug-29 to Sep-4
Streaming Originals
1 (n/a) The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power (Netflix) 1.3 Billion Minutes
3 (2) Stranger Things (Netflix) 667 Million Minutes
6 (9) She-Hulk: Attorney at Law (Disney+) 472 Million Minutes
7 (3) The Sandman (Netflix) 432 Million Minutes
Acquired Shows
2 (1) Game of Thrones (Netflix) 792 Million Minutes
3 (3) House of the Dragon (HBO Max) 781 Million Minutes
Source: Nielsen SVOD Content Ratings (Amazon Prime, Disney+, HBO Max, Hulu, Netflix, and Apple TV+), Nielsen National TV Panel, U.S. Viewing Through Television
Netflix Top 10:
Fate: The Winx Saga Season 2 held at the Number 2 slot in the Netflix Top 10 for English Language shows for the week of September 19th to 25th with 70 million hours viewed. The first season of that show also returned to the charts that week and it could be on track for a third year renewal. The Imperfects slipped to Number 9 in its second week with 13 million hours viewed which may not be good enough numbers to get it to a second season. Stranger Things Season 4 slipped out of the charts after sixteen weeks and The Sandman dropped out after seven.
In the Top 10 for Non-English Language shows, Alchemy of Souls dropped out after eleven weeks, though it will likely return when the second half of its first season arrives. Cyberpunk: Edgerunners improved to Number 7 with fourteen million hours viewed and could be on track for a second season. Following are all the sci fi and fantasy TV shows on the Netflix charts for the week (the number in parenthesis is the prior week rank):
Netflix Top 10 for the Week of Sep-19 to Sep-25
English Language Shows
2 (2) Fate: The Winx Saga Season 2 70.0 Million Hours
5 (n/a) Fate: The Winx Saga Season 1 20.3 Million Hours
9 (4) The Imperfects: Season 1 12.7 Million Hours
Non-English Language Shows
7 (8) Cyberpunk: Edgerunners Season 1 13.8 Million Hours
Source: Netflix
Cancellation Watch: Cancellation Watch: Quantum Leap Has Okay Numbers for Its Debut, House of the Dragon Improves, and More Read
You can see the status of all the currently airing, returning, and upcoming sci fi and fantasy shows at our Cancellation Watch page.
CancelledSciFi.com: Keep up with the status updates of all the currently airing sci fi and fantasy shows with our Cancellation Watch posts. And be sure to follow the Cancelled Sci Fi Twitter Site for breaking news and updates.
SciFiTVSite.com: Follow our Sci Fi TV Schedule for all the currently airing and upcoming sci fi and fantasy television shows, and keep up with what is airing/streaming each week with our Weekly Listings.
You stated the Handmaid’s Tale had not made the top 10 yet. However, it’s 5th season did not begin until the 14th of September and so it wouldn’t be in the 29 Aug- 4 Sept chart.
For Hulu the AHS spinoff has failed to make the chart with it’s 2nd season so far.
You’re right. I got the Netflix and Nielsen weeks confused when looking at that one. Corrected now and thanks for the heads up.