Television shows from more than a decade ago consistently outperformed modern offerings in terms of overall viewership on streaming services in 2023, new Nielsen data reveals.
According to the Nielsen report published at the end of January, the most-watched show of 2023 was “Suits,” a hit legal drama that aired on USA Network from 2011 to 2019. The show experienced a new surge in popularity last year after being added to Netflix and Peacock, where it racked up a combined total of 57.7 billion streaming minutes in 2023.
Other top-ranked shows included ones that premiered between 20 and 30 years ago, like “Gilmore Girls” (2000-2007) and “Friends” (1994-2004), which were both watched for 25 billion minutes. Per Nielsen, the 10 most-viewed shows acquired by streaming platforms also included ‘Bluey” (2018-present), “NCIS” (2003-present), “Grey’s Anatomy” (2005-present), “Cocomelon” (2018-present), “The Big Bang Theory” (2007-2019), “Heartland” (2007-present), and “Supernatural” (2005-2019).
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Nielsen also reported data for original programming offered by Netflix, Disney+, Prime Video, and Apple TV, but none of these shows managed to draw anything close to the older titles. The top-viewed original series of 2023 was Apple TV’s “Ted Lasso,” with a total of 16.9 billion viewing minutes across its 34 episodes.
Shows like HBO’s “The Last of Us” and “Succession” or Paramount’s “Yellowstone” did not manage to place among the top 10 despite their popularity on regular cable TV.
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According to The Hill, the joint strikes by the Screen Actors’ Guild and the Writers Guild of America in the summer of 2023 likely inspired viewers to seek out old favorites amid an unprecedented gap in new content. The comparatively larger episode libraries of older shows—21 seasons of “NCIS,” 19 of “Grey’s Anatomy”—also lend themselves to more frequent binge-watching.
In total, Americans spent a combined 21 million years’ worth of time streaming content in 2023—a 21 percent increase from 2022.
Connor Walcott is a staff writer for Valuetainment.com. Follow Connor on X and look for him on VT’s “The Unusual Suspects.”
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