Highlights
- KPop Demon Hunters broke Netflix viewership records, but long animation cycles limit its flagship potential.
- Netflix entered 2026 without a clear successor after Stranger Things and Squid Game ended in 2025.
- Bridgerton and Wednesday remain strong, but neither has emerged as Netflix’s defining franchise.
Netflix began 2026 without a single franchise positioned to replace Stranger Things and Squid Game, both of which concluded in 2025. With its two most influential originals ending in the same year, the company lacks a defining property to anchor the platform’s global identity.
As Forbes noted, the challenge is not a shortage of hits but a shortage of enduring franchises that can repeatedly draw massive audiences over time. Netflix continues to post huge viewership, but it has not established the kind of lasting intellectual property that rivals HBO and Disney have built.
One primary contender is KPop Demon Hunters, which has solidified its status as Netflix’s most-watched movie of all time. After debuting in June 2025, the animated musical surpassed 500M total views by late December 2025, effectively doubling the viewership of the previous record-holder, Red Notice.
A major driver of this longevity was the soundtrack's virality; it became the first film in history to have four songs simultaneously in the Billboard Hot 100 Top 10, led by the anthem Golden, which fueled massive repeat viewing and transformed the film into a global cultural IP.
Netflix
While the animated feature’s sustained streaming success is notable, animation production timelines limit its value as a recurring flagship, with sequels likely years away and no series adaptation announced.
Netflix’s Flagship Question is About Longevity, not Viewership Peaks
Bridgerton remains a cornerstone of Netflix’s original programming, with Season 3 officially amassing 106M views within its first 91 days. This performance secured its spot as the #10 most-watched English-language series of all time by the end of 2025.
While the franchise enjoys massive global reach, its audience is notably specialized; Nielsen data indicates that its viewership is heavily concentrated among female audiences (~77-80%), though spin-offs like Queen Charlotte have successfully expanded its appeal across broader age demographics.
Netflix
Wednesday also posted record-breaking numbers; according to official Netflix data, its first season became the most-watched English-language series in the platform's history, amassing 252.1M views in its first 91 days and outpacing its closest rival, Stranger Things 4, by over 111M views.
However, its second season did not match the launch-level viewership of the first, suggesting limited momentum as a long-term face of the platform.
Taken together, Netflix’s next cultural anchor may not yet be visible, as the platform’s biggest hits have historically emerged without warning rather than evolving from its existing slate.
