The Office Beats Out Friends as the Most Watched Licensed Show on Netflix — See the Top 10
The Office rules all!
On Wednesday, economic advisor and media strategist Scott Lazerson unveiled Netflix’s top 10 viewed licensed TV shows at the Wall Street Journal‘s global tech conference in Laguna Beach — and the beloved Steve Carell-led sitcom took the top spot.
Although the list, which Lazerson credited to ACTIVATE founder and CEO Michael Wolf, does not reveal the exact viewing numbers, it does show that out of the top 10, only two shows are Netflix originals: Orange Is the New Black and Ozark, which ranked at seventh and 10th, respectively.
Trailing behind The Office was fellow NBC sitcom Friends. Despite their huge viewings at Netflix, both shows are finding new homes in the near future at upcoming streaming services.
Top 10 series on Netflix #WSJTechLive pic.twitter.com/OQn6Bp6KZA
— Scott Lazerson (@scottlazerson) October 22, 2019
RELATED: Friends Is Leaving Netflix for New Platform HBO Max in 2020
The Office is heading to NBC’s Peacock in January 2021, while WarnerMedia’s HBO Max will pick up Friends at some point next year.
Grey’s Anatomy ranked third, directly followed by NCIS, Criminal Minds, and Shameless.
And sandwiched between the two Netflix originals on the list at eighth and ninth place were Supernatural and Parks and Recreation, the latter of which is also heading to Peacock.
Last week, Netflix also revealed its viewership for its original films and television series across the last year. The data showed Stranger Things was the most-watched Netflix show, with 64 million views.
The hit sci-fi horror series also broke a Netflix record, with 40.7 million member accounts tuning in within the first four days of its third season in July.
The second most-watched original television show was The Umbrella Academy, the superhero drama starring Ellen Page, with 45 million views, followed by La Casa de Papel with 44 million views.
You, which aired on Lifetime for its first season before Netflix snagged it, tied at number four with Sex Education, each garnering 40 million views. Behind them were Our Planet (33 million), Unbelievable (32 million), Dead to Me (30 million), When They See Us (25 million), and Elite (20 million).
The streaming service also revealed that Bird Box and Murder Mystery topped the list of most-watched original films. They were followed by Triple Frontier, The Perfect Date, Tall Girl, The Highwaymen, Secret Obsession, Always Be My Maybe, Otherhood, and Fyre.
While Netflix has dominated the streaming world over the years, it has incoming competition thanks to Disney and Apple’s services, both of which are set to debut next month, as well as Peacock and HBO Max.
Nonetheless, Netflix has more highly anticipated original programming to come, including Martin Scorsese‘s The Irishman, Eddie Murphy-starrer Dolemite is My Name, The King starring Timothée Chalamet, and the next seasons of Stranger Things, The Umbrella Academy and You.
