With its stock falling and subscriber numbers falling, 022 was widely viewed as a difficult year for Netflix. But the streamer might take comfort in the fact that some of its original shows topped Nielsen’s 2022 streaming list as it gets ready to crack down on passwords and offer ad-supported tiers.
Nobody was shocked to see Stranger Things leading the way. 52 billion minutes of “Running Up That Hill” were seen by viewers, mostly due to its exciting fourth-season premiere during the summer. The last season of Ozark, with 31.3 billion minutes, came in second place for original streaming series behind the children of Hawkins, Indiana. In contrast, Wednesday’s first season scared viewers for 18.6 billion minutes. (Of course, there will be a second part.) Bridgerton, The Crown, Cobra Kai, Virgin River, Love Is Blind, and the disputed Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story were other Netflix shows that made up the top 10.
Queues for non-streaming shows that other platforms planned to purchase also grew. The long-running CBS crime drama NCIS garnered 356 episodes and 38.1 billion Netflix minutes in 2022, placing it as the second most viewed series overall. With 37.8 billion minutes watched, CoComelon from Moonbug Entertainment rounded out the top three. In addition to Gilmore Girls, Friends, and Seinfeld, other classic series with huge streaming statistics included Grey’s Anatomy (26.7 billion), Criminal Minds (24.9 billion), and Bluey (21.1 billion).
Following its December 2021 release on Disney+, the Oscar-winning animated film Encanto by Disney was the only one to make it onto the list of the most-streamed movies of the year with 27.4 billion minutes. The closest rivals, Pixar’s Turning Red (also on Disney+) and Universal’s Sing 2 on Netflix, had their view times more than double. No laptops or mobile devices are included in Nielsen’s figures for US television watching. Even yet, Americans watched more than 19.4 million hours of streaming entertainment in 2022, a 27% increase over the pitiful 15 million hours of 2021. That much time in the Upside Down is a lot.
Below are complete listings of the movies that were streamed the most in 2022 over the time frame between December 27, 2021, and December 25, 2022.
1. Stranger Things (Netflix), 52 billion minutes viewed
2. NCIS (Netflix), 38.1 billion
3. Cocomelon (Netflix), 37.8 billion
4. Ozark (Netflix), 31.3 billion
5. Encanto (Disney+), 27.4 billion
6. Grey’s Anatomy (Netflix), 26.8 billion
7. Criminal Minds (Netflix/Hulu/Paramount+), 24.9 billion
8. Bluey (Disney+), 21.1 billion
9. Gilmore Girls (Netflix), 20.8 billion
10. Seinfeld (Netflix), 19.3 billion
11. Supernatural (Netflix), 18.8 billion
12. Wednesday (Netflix), 18.6 billion
13. Heartland (Netflix), 18 billion
14. Cobra Kai (Netflix), 16.7 billion
15. The Simpsons (Disney+), 15.9 billion
Original series
1. Stranger Things, 52 billion minutes
2. Ozark, 31.3 billion
3. Wednesday, 18.6 billion
4. Cobra Kai, 16.7 billion
5. Bridgerton (Netflix), 14 billion
6. Virgin River (Netflix), 13.6 billion
7. Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story (Netflix), 13.4 billion
8. Love Is Blind (Netflix), 13.1 billion
9. Inventing Anna (Netflix), 12.9 billion
10. The Crown (Netflix), 12.7 billion
11. The Boys (Prime Video), 10.6 billion
11. (tie) The Great British Baking Show (Netflix), 10.6 billion
13. The Umbrella Academy (Netflix), 10.5 billion
14. The Last Kingdom (Netflix), 10.4 billion
15. The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power (Prime Video), 9.4 billion
Acquired series
1. NCIS, 38.1 billion minutes
2. Cocomelon, 37.8 billion
3. Grey’s Anatomy, 26.8 billion
4. Criminal Minds, 24.9 billion
5. Bluey, 21.1 billion
6. Gilmore Girls, 20.8 billion
7. Seinfeld, 19.3 billion
8. Supernatural, 18.8 billion
9. Heartland, 18 billion
10. The Simpsons, 15.9 billion
11. Friends (HBO Max), 14.5 billion
12. The Blacklist (Netflix), 14 billion
12 (tie) New Girl (Netflix), 14 billion
14. SpongeBob SquarePants (Prime Video), 13.9 billion
15. Shameless (Netflix), 13.6 billion
Movies
1. Encanto, 27.4 billion
2. Turning Red (Disney+), 11.4 billion
3. Sing 2 (Netflix), 11.3 billion
4. Moana (Disney+), 8.6 billion
5. The Adam Project (Netflix), 6.1 billion
6. Hocus Pocus 2 (Disney+), 5.7 billion
7. Don’t Look Up (Netflix), 5.1 billion
7 (tie) Frozen (Disney+), 5.1 billion
9. Luca (Disney+), 5 billion
9 (tie) The Gray Man (Netflix), 5 billion
11. Zootopia (Disney+), 4.4 billion
12. Coco (Disney+), 4.3 billion
13. Eternals (Disney+), 4.24 billion
14. Frozen II (Disney+), 4.2 billion
15. Uncharted (Netflix), 4.18 billion