Just how popular is the Netflix series? HUGELY popular.
We don’t usually have any way of knowing how many people are streaming Netflix shows, but today Nielsen has provided some numbers for the just-released second season of “Stranger Things.“ Not surprisingly, the show is pulling in massive numbers for the streaming service.
A whopping 15.8 million people watched the premiere episode of Season 2 over the course of its debut weekend, and 361,000 watched all nine episodes on DAY ONE!
“Across Friday, Saturday and Sunday, the average number of Stranger Things 2 episodes that a tuning-in fan from the key age-range (18-49 ) watched in the U.S. was 2.9. That means those who started the season binged nearly 3 episodes,” The Wrap notes. “And on just Saturday, consumers 18-49 devoured an average of 3.2 episodes.”
Here are some per-episode statistics, via The Wrap:
- “Chapter Two” averaged 13.7 million viewers P2+ and 9.6 million people 18-49 viewing over the first three days of its availability
- “Chapter Three” averaged 11.6 million viewers P2+ and 8.1 million viewers 18-49 viewing over the first three days of its availability
- “Chapter Four” averaged 9.3 million viewers P2+ and 6.6 million viewers 18-49 viewing over the first three days of its availability
- “Chapter Five” averaged 8 million viewers P2+ and 5.6 million viewers 18-49 viewing over the first three days of its availability
- “Chapter Six” averaged 6.4 million viewers P2+ and 4.5 million viewers 18-49 viewing over the first three days of its availability
- “Chapter Seven” averaged 5.3 million viewers P2+ and 3.7 million viewers 18-49 viewing over the first three days of its availability
- “Chapter Eight” averaged 4.9 million viewers P2+ and 3.4 million viewers 18-49 viewing over the first three days of its availability
- “Chapter Nine” averaged 4.6 million viewers P2+ and 3.2 million viewers 18-49 viewing over the first three days of its availability
To provide some degree of context here, we can compare the ratings of “Stranger Things” Season 2 to those of “The Walking Dead,” which is of course a cable TV show.
The highest rated episode of “The Walking Dead” in history, the Season 5 premiere, pulled in 17.29 million viewers, a number that the Season 2 premiere of “Stranger Things” very nearly reached over the weekend. That’s an incredible number for a show in only its second season; “The Walking Dead” nabbed no more than 8.99 million viewers in its second season.
“Stranger Things” is just about *already* as popular as “The Walking Dead” was at its peak, which is a huge testament to just how much of a phenomenon it really is.
