The Most Streamed TV Show of 2020 Should Come as Absolutely No Surprise

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Last year was huge for streaming. While we've all been spending more time at home, our time spent on streaming platforms, like Netflix, Hulu, and Disney+, has skyrocketed. (Some reports say video streaming went up by 71% in 2020.) So, we already know that we've been spending a lot of time streaming, but the research firm Nielsen just released a list showing exactly what we've all been watching in record amounts. And no, it's not our new favorite horny drama Bridgerton.

The top show on the list actually went off air nearly eight years ago. We'll give you a hint: Bears, beets, Battlestar Galactica. That's right, The Office is sitting at spot number one with 57.1 billion minutes of the series streamed last year—and no one can say they're surprised. "A lot of talk about people not going to the office this year, well they certainly have gone to The Office as a viewing destination," Brian Fuhrer, Nielsen's SVP of Product Strategy, said in a video statement.

Nielsen has long provided ratings information for broadcast and cable networks, but this is the first time the company has ranked the most streamed shows of the year. The rankings are based on the total number of minutes watched across Netflix, Amazon Prime, Disney+, and Hulu, though the TV series lists were dominated by shows on Netflix. Following The Office, the next most streamed shows on the acquired series list were Grey's Anatomy (39.4 billon minutes), Criminal Minds (35.4 billion minutes), NCIS (28.1 billion minutes), and Schitt's Creek (23.8 billion minutes).

On the most streamed original series list, Netflix's Ozark came first with 30.5 billion minutes streamed, followed by Lucifer (19 billion minutes) and The Crown (16.3 billion minutes). Though it created so much buzz last year, Tiger King only came in at number four, with 15.7 billion minutes streamed—but as explained on Tech Crunch, "Nielsen's methodology puts it at a disadvantage, since it only has eight episodes." The Mandalorian took fifth place, with 14.5 billion minutes streamed, presumably for a similar reason.

Nielsen has also started releasing weekly most streamed lists, so you can see which shows are currently being watched the most. For this week, we'll save you the click: The Office is still reigning supreme.