‘Lucifer’ Reclaims Viewership Throne in Nielsen’s Latest Streaming Report

Tyler Hersko
·3 min read

It doesn’t take divine intervention to become the most-viewed streaming show of the week. It takes something a bit darker — or whatever “Lucifer” has, anyway.

Netflix’s “Lucifer,” the popular fantasy series that premiered its sixth and final season September 10, was the most-viewed original streaming show of the week by an impressive margin. The series was viewed for 1,588 million minutes, while Netflix’s “Clickbait” trailed in second place with 732 million minutes viewed, per Nielsen’s latest report on the most-viewed streaming TV shows. The company’s rankings were based on viewership data from from September 13 to September 19.

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The rise of “Lucifer” should be a familiar story to those who follow ratings. After being revived by Netflix following its cancellation at Fox, “Lucifer” has long been a mainstay on Nielsen’s weekly rankings and regularly topped (or nearly topped) the reports when the show’s Season 5 premiered earlier in the year. “Lucifer” was also the second most-viewed streaming original of the week in Nielsen’s last report, despite Season 6 having only been out for three days at the time. If history is any indication, “Lucifer” will likely be a mainstay on Nielsen’s reports for several more weeks — while serving as another example of middling broadcast dramas drawing big numbers on streaming. (See also: “Manifest.”)

“Clickbait” is also proving to be a widely popular show. The drama series, which premiered August 25 on Netflix, topped Nielsen’s streaming reports for three weeks before being dethroned by “Lucifer.” Regardless, “Clickbait” scored a considerable number of viewers and healthily outpaced Netflix’s “Sex Education,” which was the third most-viewed show of the week, with 595 million minutes viewed, per Nielsen.

Nielsen’s data is only based on United States audiences using TV sets and only covers Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Hulu, and Disney+. The company releases its streaming data reports on a roughly one-month delay due to an arrangement with the aforementioned streaming services. The entertainment industry’s major streamers do not regularly release their own verifiable viewership data.

On the topic of streaming companies and their selective releasing of data, Netflix claimed on Tuesday that “Squid Game,” which premiered September 17, had “reached” 111 million viewers and stated it was the streamer’s biggest series launch yet. Though social media buzz indicates that “Squid Game” has been a huge hit for several weeks, the show did not appear on Nielsen’s latest report, possibly due to the series premiering late in Nielsen’s reporting window. Given its word-of-mouth success, the show likely made gains in subsequent weeks; it started just out of the Top 10 this week, with 206 million viewing minutes. Check back next week to see how much it gains — and if the buzzy international surprise can match less-talked-about titles like “Lucifer.”

Four non-Netflix titles populated Nielsen’s latest report, as well. Hulu’s “Only Murders in the Building” and “Nine Perfect Strangers” ranked fifth and sixth in the report with 311 million minutes viewed and 297 million minutes viewed, respectively. The Amazon Prime Video docuseries “LulaRich” also made its way into the Top 10, with 242 million minutes viewed.ˇ

1. Lucifer (Netflix) – 1,588 million minutes

2. Clickbait (Netflix) – 732 million minutes

3. Sex Education (Netflix) – 595 million minutes

4. The Circle (Netflix) – 444 million minutes

5. Only Murders in the Building (Hulu) – 311 million minutes

6. Nine Perfect Strangers (Hulu) – 297 million minutes

7. Turning Point: 9/11 and the War on Terror (Netflix) – 268 million minutes

8. What If…? (Disney+) – 243 million minutes

9. LulaRich (Amazon Prime Video) – 242 million minutes

10. Money Heist (Netflix) – 224 million minutes

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