‘Stranger Things’ Season 5 Premiere Shatters Nielsen Record — Beating Its Own Previous High

The fifth and final season of the Netflix series premiered in the US over Thanksgiving weekend and pulled in massive numbers.

According to Nielsen, the first four episodes of Season 5 recorded 8.46 billion viewing minutes during their debut week, which ran from November 24 to November 30. That is the highest weekly total ever for any streaming show.

The record it broke was also held by Stranger Things. When Season 4 launched in 2022, it reached 7.2 billion viewing minutes in its first week. That means Season 5 beat its own previous record by more than a billion minutes.

What makes this even more impressive is how the season was released. Season 5 dropped at 5 p.m. PT on a Wednesday, right in the middle of the holiday week. In comparison, Season 4 premiered on a Friday and launched with seven episodes. This time, only four episodes were released in the first batch.

Nielsen’s report also shared more details about who was watching. About 57 percent of viewers finished the first four episodes, and around 59 percent of the audience was between the ages of 18 and 49.

Interest in the show was already high before the new season arrived. In the weeks leading up to the premiere, fans were rewatching older seasons. Stranger Things climbed back to the top of Nielsen’s streaming chart with 1.6 billion viewing minutes the week before Season 5 debuted.

The series stars Winona Ryder, David Harbour, Millie Bobby Brown, Finn Wolfhard, Noah Schnapp, Caleb McLaughlin, Sadie Sink, and Gaten Matarazzo. It was created by Matt and Ross Duffer and has been one of Netflix’s biggest hits since it first launched.

The final four episodes of Season 5 are set to release on Christmas Day and New Year’s Eve in the US. With numbers already this high, the viewing totals could climb even more before the show officially ends.

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