Netflix's 15 most-streamed shows of all time (by both hours watched and views)

Wednesday is one of Netflix's top 15 streamed shows
(Image credit: Netflix)

The Netflix list of the top 15 most streamed shows has had a big shake-up recently. Not only have some new additions climbed the list (hello, Queen Charlotte) but the streamer has also finally been a bit more upfront about its viewership data.

You see, Netflix only used to release how many hours a show had been viewed for during their first 28 days on the platform. Now, we can see how many hours it's been viewed in total, as well as how many views the show actually got too, which has led to some intriguing revelations. 

Some shows, like Squid Game still reign supreme in both metrics, while others have been helped by having longer runtimes, like Stranger Thing season 4 topping the most hours viewed of an English-language show, but being beaten on views by Wednesday. 

So to help you make sense of all of these, we've done the number-crunching to work out exactly what are the most-viewed shows on the platform. Below, we've broken this down by both metrics, and the results might surprise you. And don't worry, we'll keep updating this ranking when Netflix releases new data to see if any new series can match Squid Game's global success.

Most watched Netflix shows (by hours viewed)

Squid Game

(Image credit: Netflix)

1. Squid Game season 1: 2.2 billion hours

2. Stranger Things season 4: 1.83 billion hours

3. Wednesday: 1.71 billion hours

4. Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story: 1.03 billion hours

5. Bridgerton season 1: 929.3 million hours

6. Money Heist part 5: 900.7 million hours

7. The Night Agent: 803.2 million hours

Bridgerton season 2

(Image credit: Netflix)

8. Bridgerton season 2: 797.2 million hours

9. The Queen's Gambit: 746.4 million hours

10. Stranger Things season 3: 716.1 million hours

11. Money Heist part 4: 710.2 million hours

12. All Of Us Are Dead season 1: 679.3 million hours

13. The Witcher season 1: 663.6 million hours

14. Lucifer season 5: 569.5 million hours

15. Queen Charlotte: 520.6 million hours

Most watched Netflix shows (by views)

Wednesday on Netflix

(Image credit: Netflix)

1. Squid Game season 1: 265.2 million views

2. Wednesday: 252.1 million views

3. Stranger Things season 4: 140.7 million views

4. Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story: 115.6 million views

5. Bridgerton season 1: 113.3 million views

6. The Queen's Gambit: 112.8 million views

7. Money Heist part 4: 106 million views

Luciane Buchanan and Gabriel Basso in The Night Agent

(Image credit: Netflix)

8. Lupin part 1: 99.5 million views

9. Money Heist part 5: 99.2 million views

10. The Night Agent: 98.2 million views

11. Stranger Things season 3: 94.8 million views

12. Bridgerton season 2: 93.8 million views

13. The Witcher season 1: 83 million views

14. Queen Charlotte: 80.3 million views

15. Money Heist part 3: 80 million views


For what else to watch, check out our round-ups of the best Netflix shows and best Netflix movies.

Fay Watson
Deputy Entertainment Editor

I’m the Deputy Entertainment Editor here at 12DOVE, covering TV and film for the Total Film and SFX sections online. I previously worked as a Senior Showbiz Reporter and SEO TV reporter at Express Online for three years. I've also written for The Resident magazines and Amateur Photographer, before specializing in entertainment.