Ratings Report: ‘Stranger Things’ Surpasses 1 Billion Hours Watched, ‘Abbott Elementary’ Holds Steady, ‘Industry’ Maintains Critical Acclaim

Broadcast: Abbott Elementary is in the midst of its season five rollout, with its latest episode airing Jan. 14, 2026. The episode delivered the highest P18-49 viewership (585,300) and rating (0.43) of the season so far. While these marks represent a season high, season five as a whole has averaged 432,610 P18-49 viewers and a 0.31 rating per episode, totaling 4.3 million viewers to date. These figures reflect a decline from season four, which averaged 626,690 viewers and a 0.38 rating per episode. That higher average was largely driven by the season four premiere, with its first two episodes garnering 2.1 million and 2.0 million viewers, respectively. Excluding those episodes, the remainder of season four averaged 475,657 viewers per episode. This suggests that season five’s audience tuning in and reception is remaining on par with season four across the majority of the season. With the uptick from the most recent season five episode, it is possible that season five could see growth to match, or exceed, the statistics of season four as there are still seven episodes remaining. The most watched episodes of both seasons four and five have the highest ratings, though the discrepancy is much starker in season four. Season four’s top rated episodes included its first two episodes with 0.67 P18-49 (2.1 million viewers) and 0.67 P18-49 (2.0 million viewers) and the episode released on January 8, 2025 with 0.68 P18-49 (911,500 viewers). Season five’s top episodes so far were the third episode released on Oct. 15, 2025 to a rating of 0.38 P18-49 (521,000 viewers) and the most recent episode on Jan. 14, 2026. The data suggests Abbott Elementary remains a well-received show across its audience, with popular episodes continuing to drive a seasons’ viewership and ratings.

Abbott Elementary follows a group of teachers and school staff as they navigate supporting students at an underfunded, predominantly Black public school while being followed by a documentary crew. Created by Quinta Brunson (Zootopia 2, Big Mouth), the series is co-run byPatrick Schumacker (Harley Quinn, Kite Man: Hell Yeah!) and Justin Halpern (Harley Quinn, Surviving Jack). The main ensemble cast is also composed of Tyler James Williams (Dear White People, Everybody Hates Chris), Janelle James (Black Monday, Central Park), Lisa Ann Walter (The Parent Trap, Bruce Almighty), Chris Perfetti (The Night Of, Looking), Sheryl Lee Ralph (Oliver & Company, Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit) and William Stanford Davis (Snowpiercer, Ray Donovan). Abbott Elementary airs on ABC Wednesday nights at 8:30p.m. EST/PST and is available to stream on HBO.

Cable: Industry is currently wrapping up season four, with three episodes still to be released as of the time of writing. Season four has garnered a 96% critics approval rating across 49 reviews on Rotten Tomatoes thus far. This is only a slight decrease from season three’s rating of 98% (44 reviews) and matching that of season two’s 96% (25 reviews). This consistency implies that after struggling on its first season, with a 76% (38 reviews) critics approval rating, the show found its footing and has not faltered much in the eyes of critics since. However, the audience ratings have decreased substantially from season three (88%) to season four (61%), bringing the audience reception closer to that of season one (60%) and two (65%). Warner Bros. Discovery has also reported that season four’s viewership on the premiere surpassed season three’s by 20%, demonstrating strong initial interest in the new season. Taken together, the data suggests that audiences returned after the strength of season three, only to respond less favorably to season four. 

Season three audience reviews consistently emphasize the great writing, character development, composing and acting. Season four audience reviews seem to point to cliche and superficial writing, while still praising the performances and production of the season. The unlikeability of the main characters was mentioned sporadically in season three review, but is mentioned significantly more in season four’s reviews. This suggests audience exhaustion with ‘no one to root for’ by this point in season four. With a few more episodes to go, Industry may be able to bring its audience closer to the goodwill they had in season three, but only time will tell.

Industry is a drama that centers on a group of graduates who join the investment bank, Pierpoint & Co, after the 2008 financial crisis. The personal and professional lives of the graduates and fellow employees get entangled and examined over the course of the series. The series was created by Mickey Down (Gregor, The Avengers) and Konrad Kay (Gregor, The Avengers). It has an ensemble cast led by Myha'la (Modern Love, Premature), Marisa Abela (Cobra, Rogue Agent), Sagar Radia (The Good Karma Hospital, Unicorns) and Ken Leung (Old, Lost). Industry airs on Sundays at 9:00p.m. EST/PST on HBO and HBO Max.

Streaming: Netflix released season five of one of its flagship original series, Stranger Things, to major viewership success. The fifth season stayed in the Netflix Top 10 for nine consecutive weeks from November 24, 2025 to the week of January 19, 2026 at the time of writing. Across this period, season five accumulated 1.3 billion hours watched and 186.5 million viewers. The series’ final season was released in three segments: Volume 1 on November 26, 2025, Volume 2 on December 25, 2025 and the Finale on December 31, 2025. The viewership followed this release schedule with sharp spikes and post-release drop-offs. Peak week coincided with release windows, reaching 284.2 million (week of Nov. 24), 284.8 million (week of Dec. 22) and 325.6 million (week of Dec. 29). The most significant declines occurred immediately after each peak. Hours watched fell from 284.2 million to 112.7 million in the week following Volume 1 and from 325.6 million to 96.4 million after the Finale. Subsequent weeks saw further tapering of the hours watched.

Because streaming platforms allow for a binge model, all prior seasons of Stranger Things all also made it in the Top 10 during season five’s release. This implies that audiences had started binging the series in preparation for its final season. Season one appeared in the Top 10 the week of November 3, 2025 and stayed through the week of January 12, 2026 with 380.2 million hours watched. Season two had 335.7 million hours watched from November 10, 2025 to January 12, 2026 and season three gained 286.5 million hours watched from November 17, 2025 to January 12, 2026. Season four saw its first pop up in the Top 10 the week of November 17, 2025 and stayed through January 19, 2026 with 546.5 million hours watched.

Stranger Things, initially intended to be a limited series, was created and developed by Matt Duffer and Ross Duffer, known as the Duffer Brothers (Hidden, We All Fall Down). The series follows the supernatural ongoings of the fictional town, Hawkins, Indiana, after a young boy, Will Byers, disappears, and a young girl, Eleven, appears in the woods on the same night. Over the course of the series, even stranger things start to occur. The series stars a very large ensemble main cast including Caleb McLaughlin (The New Edition Story, High Flying Bird), Priah Ferguson (The Curse of Bridge Hollow, My Dad the Bounty Hunter), Finn Wolfhard (It, Ghostbusters: Afterlife), Gaten Matarazzo (Lego Star Wars: Rebuild the Galaxy, Honor Society), Sadie Sink (The Whale, Fear Street: Part Two - 1978), Millie Bobby Brown (Enola Homes, Godzilla: King of the Monsters), Noah Schnapp (Waiting for Anya, Abe), Natalia Dyer (Yes, God, Yes, Tuscaloosa), Charlie Heaton (The New Mutants, As You Are), Joe Keery (Free Guy, Spree), Maya Hawke (Do Revenge, Inside Out 2), Winona Ryder (Little Women, Alien: Resurrection), David Harbour (Revolutionary Road, Hellboy), Brett Gelman (The Other Guys, Boy Kills World) and Jamie Campbell Bower (The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones, Sweeny Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street). Stranger Things is available to stream on Netflix.