Stranger Things season 4 may have been out for two months now, but the long-awaited chapter is still helping the hit Netflix series smash records. According to Deadline, the new episodes – and the previous three seasons – were watched for around 1.42 billion minutes in the first week of August, marking the show's eighth week at #1 the Nielsen streaming chart.
The figure was actually 22% down from the previous week, but the figures were still impressive enough to beat out competition from Virgin River, which racked up 1.38 billion minutes, and Lightyear on Disney Plus, which accumulated 1.30 billion. Other titles in the top 10 include The Sandman (1.02 billion), Uncharted (1.01 billion), Purple Hearts (828 million), Cocomelon (741 million), and Keep Breathing (722 million).
Long-running dramas NCIS and Grey's Anatomy round off the list, earning 692 million and 678 million minutes respectively. Having five titles with more than 1 billion streaming minutes has not happened since February, Nielsen told the publication.
Set six months after the events of season 3, which culminated in Eleven moving to California with Will (Noah Schnapp) and his family, Stranger Things season 4 sees the gang brought back together by a new and horrifying supernatural threat, Vecna. Before long, the group uncover secrets about their new foe that illuminate the dark history of Hawkins and sheds some light on the mystery of the Upside Down.
If you can't get enough of Hawkins-related content, check out our breakdown of the Stranger Things season 4, Volume 2 ending and how it all sets up Stranger Things season 5, or our spoiler-heavy list of who dies in Stranger Things season 4, Volume 2. If you're not keen to dwell on the darker stuff, though, we've rounded up all of the fun Stranger Things season 4, Volume 2 Easter eggs here.
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I am an Entertainment Writer here at 12DOVE, covering all things TV and film across our Total Film and SFX sections. Elsewhere, my words have been published by the likes of Digital Spy, SciFiNow, PinkNews, FANDOM, Radio Times, and Total Film magazine.