Streaming is the new cable, but who’s doing it best? For so long, Netflix dominated as the effective sole streaming service, with shows like Orange Is the New Black and House of Cards some of the first original streaming offerings.
But now, you could argue Netflix is producing far from the best original content on streaming services. It certainly is being lapped by its competitors — Apple TV+ became the first streaming platform to win Best Picture at the Oscars with Coda. To its credit, Netflix does have two of the most streamed shows of all time based on hours watched.
Stranger Things is its most watched show of all time, with 1.26 billion hours watched in the first 28 days of the Season 4 release alone. Squid Game wins for the most hours watched in the first 28 days with 1.65 billion hours. But factor in Stranger Things‘ three previous seasons compared to Squid Game‘s one (it’s coming back for more), and the Duffer Brothers sci-fi hit is easily Netflix’s most watched show. (Both of the dramas are the only two Netflix shows to cross the billion-hour threshold.)
Streaming services don’t often share streaming numbers, so it’s difficult to know which platform has the most-watched original show of all time. (But it’s hard to imagine many others having over 1 billion hours watched.) But does Netflix have the best original catalogue overall?
Between all of its Shondaland titles (Bridgerton, Inventing Anna), Ryan Murphy‘s shows (The Politician, Ratched), and titles like Never Have I Ever, The Umbrella Academy, Sex Education, and Ozark, it certainly holds its own outside of its two biggest hits.
HBO Max and Hulu come to mind when thinking of the best overall original catalogue. While HBO Max tends to blur the line between what’s an HBO original versus an HBO Max original, the platform still has an impressive catalogue of original works. HBO Max originals include the Emmy-winning Hacks, viral sensation Our Flag Means Death, Station Eleven, Minx, Peacemaker, Starstruck, The Flight Attendant, The Sex Lives of College Girls, Doom Patrol, Search Party, The Staircase, The Other Two, and more.
(Credit: Karen Ballard/HBO Max)
Between its originals and its FX on Hulu partnership (FX series airing exclusively on the streamer), Hulu has quite the catalogue as well. Recent limited series additions like Under the Banner of Heaven and The Dropout stand out, as well as The Handmaid’s Tale, Reservation Dogs, Only Murders In the Building, The Great, Difficult People, Castle Rock, Love, Victor, The Mindy Project, Ramy, Shrill, newly added The Bear (yes, chef), and more. Other notable titles include Normal People, PEN15, Dopesick, Pam & Tommy, and Mrs. America.
Apple TV+ may have some of the most Emmy darling shows of all the streamers. It has the most Emmy nominations among streaming services for 2022 at a record-breaking 52 across 13 titles. Those titles include Ted Lasso, Severance, Schmigadoon!, Pachinko, The Morning Show, The Problem with Jon Stewart, Foundation, Lisey’s Story, Central Park, They Call Me Magic, and Carpool Karaoke: The Series.
Prime Video has collected several Emmys for The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel and has the most expensive show of all time coming out this year in The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power. And Disney+ is the go-to location for genre titles and kids programming.
Apple TV+
Younger streaming services like Paramount+, Peacock, and Discovery+ are holding their own with their growing catalogues, each establishing their own personal styles with combinations of reality and scripted series.
We want to know what you think. Which streaming service’s original catalogue do you think is the most impressive? Let us know in the poll below.
