#Streaming Ratings: ‘Reacher’ Still Big in Second Season Debut

Reacher began its second season with big viewing-time numbers, cementing its status as one of the most popular shows on Amazon’s Prime Video.

The series based on Lee Child’s novels had 1.69 billion minutes of watch time for the week of Dec. 11-17; season two’s first three episodes debuted on Dec. 15 (viewing time for the week also includes the eight episodes of season one). That’s within 10 percent of Reacher’s total for its series premiere week (1.84 billion minutes) in February 2022, when Prime Video released the entire season at once. Season two is on a weekly release pattern after the opening three-episode salvo.

The 1.69 billion minutes for Reacher put the series in second place overall in Nielsen’s streaming rankings for the week. Netflix’s movie Leave the World Behind repeated as the overall No. 1 title, edging up to 1.95 billion minutes of viewing from 1.92 billion the previous week.

The final six episodes of The Crown debuted on Netflix Dec. 14 and helped push the series over the billion-minute mark (to 1.22 billion minutes) for the first time since season six premiered in November. Young Sheldon (1.43 billion minutes) had another strong week on Netflix and Max, and YA series My Life With the Walter Boys jumped to 1.11 billion minutes in its second week — an improvement of 64 percent week to week.

Barbie began streaming on Max on Dec. 15 and racked up 518 million minutes of viewing over its first three days, ranking third among movies.

Nielsen’s streaming ratings cover viewing on TV sets only and don’t include minutes watched on computers or mobile devices. The ratings only measure U.S. audiences, not those in other countries. The top streaming titles for Dec. 11-17, 2023, are below.

Overall

1. Leave the World Behind (Netflix), 1.95 billion minutes viewed
2. Reacher (Prime Video), 1.69 billion
3. Young Sheldon (Max/Netflix), 1.43 billion
4. The Crown (Netflix), 1.22 billion
5. My Life With the Walter Boys (Netflix), 1.11 billion
6. Grey’s Anatomy (Netflix), 969 million
7. The Super Mario Bros. Movie (Netflix), 898 million
8. Bluey (Disney+), 818 million
9. Obliterated (Netflix), 729 million
10. NCIS (Netflix/Paramount+), 722 million

Original Series

1. Reacher, 1.69 billion minutes
2. The Crown, 1.22 billion
3. My Life With the Walter Boys, 1.11 billion
4. Obliterated, 729 million
5. Squid Game: The Challenge (Netflix), 431 million
6. School Spirits (Netflix/Paramount+), 425 million
7. Virgin River (Netflix), 398 million
8. Yu Yu Hakusho (Netflix), 343 million
9. World War II: From the Frontlines (Netflix), 325 million
10. Sweet Home (Netflix), 282 million

Acquired Series

1. Young Sheldon, 1.43 billion minutes
2. Grey’s Anatomy, 969 million
3. Bluey, 818 million
4. NCIS, 722 million
5. Suits (Netflix/Peacock), 652 million
6. The Big Bang Theory (Max), 632 million
7. Cocomelon (Netflix), 487 million
8. Friends (Max), 475 million
9. Shameless (Netflix), 422 million
10. House (Hulu/Peacock/Prime Video), 418 million

Movies

1. Leave the World Behind, 1.95 billion minutes
2. The Super Mario Bros. Movie, 898 million
3. Barbie (Max), 518 million
4. Candy Cane Lane (Prime Video), 472 million
5. Home Alone (Disney+), 455 million
6. Elf (Hulu/Max), 435 million
7. The Grinch (2018) (Peacock), 418 million
8. Gran Turismo (Netflix), 410 million
9. Family Switch (Netflix), 398 million
10. Leo (Netflix), 341 million