Does ‘Stranger Things’ Have Enough Strength To Break This Netflix Record?

Seventy-eight consecutive days on Netflix’s Top 10 list—that’s crazy. It seemed impossible when The Queen’s Gambit accomplished the feat in 2021. And it seemed just as unlikely when Squid Game pulled it off later that year as well.

But the energy is different this time around. Stranger Things is definitely going to break the 78-day barrier—and then some. There’s absolutely no doubt about it…

…right?

Honestly, no. There’s reason to be concerned. Let’s review.

The Record

In early 2021, The Queen’s Gambit capped off the longest streak ever on Netflix’sNFLX
Top 10 list: 78 days. Then nearly one year later, Squid Game matched that record with its own 78-day streak. If we don’t include CoComelon as a competitor (a show that dominates the children’s charts, but not the adult Top 10), those are easily the two longest streaks ever. The next-closest runs belong to shows like Manifest (64 days), Bridgerton (61 days), Avatar: The Last Airbender (61 days), and Ginny & Georgia (58 days).

Now Stranger Things wants in on the action—and it doesn’t seem to be having any trouble getting there. With today’s third-place finish, Stranger Things brought its current Top 10 streak to 73 days. And at no point during those 73 days has Stranger Things finished outside the top three spots—a streak unmatched by any other show in Netflix’s history.

So six days from now, the cult program will likely have enough showing to own the record. Which means in exactly one week, there will be a new record for Netflix shows to chase.

That is, of course, if Stranger Things doesn’t fall prey to the same streak-ending obstacles that The Queen’s Gambit and Squid Game faced.

The Obstacles

So is there a chance Stranger Things falls off? We do have to remember that The Queen’s Gambit was in fourth place on the 73rd day of its legendary streak—but then quickly plummeted down the charts. So the same thing could easily happen to Stranger Things.

Squid Game, however, was in a much worse position, sitting in seventh place on the 73rd day of its streak. Plus, the first season of Squid Game only pulled in 30.41 million hours of watch time during its tenth week, while the fourth season of Stranger Things was able to accrue 57.72 million last week (the show’s tenth week on Netflix). So in that department, Strange Things is sitting pretty.

We must also observe the competitors at this stage of each show’s streak. When The Queen’s Gambit started to fall off, it was going up against juggernauts like Cobra Kai and Bridgerton. Squid Game, on the other hand, didn’t have any notable competitors, with Cowboy Bebop and True Story posing the biggest threats.

Meanwhile, the competition for Stranger Things is starting to heat up. This week marks the debut of the hotly anticipated The Sandman, and the sixth season of Riverdale hits Netflix on Sunday. But between today and August 9—the day Stranger Things could break the record—there are no other noteworthy competitors.

So is it smooth sailing for Stranger Things over the next six days? Perhaps…but perhaps not. We’ll have to wait and see if the hype for Netflix’s arguably most popular program ever continues to permeate. Until then, you can be sure that I’ll be watching and posting about it.