For as much as has already happened in the 2026 TV schedule, it can be easy to forget that Stranger Things came to an end just one month ago. The finale is likely going to go down as one of the most divisive in recent years, with some fans so disappointed that they created an elaborate conspiracy theory and others debated whether Eleven is alive or dead. The frenzy has been over for some time now, so I was surprised to sign in with my Netflix subscription on Friday night and discover one way that the Duffer Brothers' series is still on top.
I got back into Bridgerton in time for Season 4 to release streaming this week, so I naturally signed into Netflix on this ice-cold Friday night to start the new season. I wasn’t expecting any kind of reminder of Stranger Things today other than when “Purple Rain” started playing on my music shuffle. But when I glanced at Netflix’s Top 10 TV Shows in the U.S. today, I made an unexpected discovery: there is one way that Stranger Things is beating the competition while ranking tenth.
That is because out of the entire Top 10, Stranger Things is the only show that isn’t marked as “RECENTLY ADDED,” “NEW SEASON,” or “LIVE.” It seems that the majority of Netflix subscribers have moved on to more recent streaming options after a month from the end of Stranger Things, but there's still a healthy enough number of fans watching that it’s beating all the competition in its own less recent category.
It has held onto a spot in the Top 10 since ending in late 2025, and it’s still in there at the end of January. Check out the full list, as well as when they debuted as a Netflix original or were added to the library:
- Bridgerton Season 4 – January 29
- Mike Epps: Delusional – January 27
- His & Hers – January 8
- Free Bert – January 22
- Skyscraper Live – January 23
- Finding Her Edge – January 22
- 11.22.63 – available January 7
- Star Search – January 20
- Sandokan: The Pirate Prince – available January 19
- Stranger Things Season 5 – December 31, 2025
Congratulations to Stranger Things to holding onto that Top 10 spot, even if it has dropped down from #1 to #10! It is worth noting that of the other nine entries, 11.22.63 and Sandokan: The Pirate Prince aren’t Netflix originals. 11.22.63 (2016) was originally available with a Hulu subscription before switching streamers, while Sandokan: The Pirate Prince (2025) is an Italian series that originally aired on Rai 1 across the Atlantic before being added to the Netflix library.
All of this is to say that the list isn’t comprised of nine identical shows and Stranger Things as the only outlier, but at the time of writing, there’s no denying that you can scroll through nine titles marked as being new releases before getting to Stranger Things. Talk about staying power! At this point, I’m genuinely curious to see how much longer it sticks around in the ranking. Bridgerton likely isn’t going anywhere while there’s still half of Season 4 set to release in February, at the very least.
