Published on: Dec 05, 2025 01:53 pm IST
A controversial docu series has replaced Stranger Things season 5 at the top of Netflix’s most popular TV shows in the US.
Stranger Things is Netflix’s biggest English-language show. Over the years, it has become synonymous with the streaming giant in the West, just as Squid Game is in the East. So naturally, when the final season of the show drops, most expect it to top the most popular shows’ list on the streamer for weeks, if not months. But surprisingly, Stranger Things season 5 lost the numero uno spot on Netflix in just a week of its release. And it lost the top spot to a documentary no less.
Stranger Things season 5 pipped from top of Netflix charts
Four episodes of the fifth and final season of Stranger Things released on Netflix on 26 November worldwide. In the five days after that, the so-called Volume 1 of S5 amassed 59.6 million views to top the viewership charts. This is the second-highest views for a Netflix show in the debut week, behind the 60 million achieved by Squid Games season 2 earlier this year. Stranger Things S5 also trended in the top 10 shows on Netflix in dozens of countries across the world.
However, by December 3, just a week after its release, a new release dethroned Stranger Things from the top 10 spot in the most popular shows in the US. The spot was taken by a docu series on the disgraced music mogul Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs. Titled Sean Combs: The Reckoning, the docu series aired on Netflix from December 2 despite Diddy’s attempts to block its release.
What is Sean Combs: The Reckoning?
The docu series unpacks the sexual abuse and trafficking allegations faced by Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs and his Bad Boy empire, spanning decades of his life and career. Produced by 50 Cent, the docu series has been labeled a ‘shameful hit piece’ by its subject, who is behind bars currently. This has only increased its popularity, however. The show is trending in the top 10 on Netflix worldwide, and has displaced Stranger Things as number one in the US.
About Stranger Things finale
Stranger Things, created by the Duffer Brothers, began in 2016 and soon established itself as the most popular show on the platform. Set in the fictitious town of Hawkins, Indiana, the sci-fi thriller deals with a group of kids who stumble upon a world of experiments and parallel dimensions while looking for their missing friends. The show has become a pop culture phenomenon, and turns its young cast into international celebrities. The second volume of episodes will drop on 25 December, with the two-hour series finale releasing on New Year’s Eve.
