Jenna Ortega as Wednesday Addams

Matthias Clamer/Netflix

Wednesday has already taken its place as one of Netflix’s biggest series based on the streamer’s internal measurement. Now comes outside confirmation of the show’s breakout.

The Addams Family offshoot racked up almost 6 billion minutes — 5.988 billion, to be precise — of viewing time in the United States during its premiere week of Nov. 21-27, according to Nielsen. That’s the second largest week in the two-year history of Nielsen’s weekly rankings, trailing only the 7.2 billion for Stranger Things 4 from May 30-June 5.

The series is just the fourth to pass 5 billion minutes of watch time in a week. Stranger Things has done so three times, while Tiger King and Ozark each did once at the height of pandemic lockdowns in March and April 2020.

The previous week’s top series, The Crown, fell off by about 38 percent, though it still crested the billion-minute mark with 1.11 billion minutes of viewing. Dead to Me edged up from 1.39 billion to 1.46 billion minutes to finish a distant second to Wednesday. Two other Netflix titles, 1899 (1.11 billion) and the movie Slumberland (1.06 billion), also reached the billion mark.

Andor reached a season high of 674 million minutes for the week its season finale premiered. Disney+’s holiday series The Santa Clauses also made the top 10 original series list with 372 million minutes of viewing, marking the first time a Disney+ show not affiliated with Marvel or Star Wars made the rankings.

Criminal Minds also made a return to the acquired series rankings for the first time since it left Netflix at the end of June. The series streams on Paramount+ and Hulu, and a new incarnation of the show, subtitled Evolution, debuted on Paramount+ on Nov. 24.

Nielsen’s streaming ratings cover viewing on TV sets only and don’t include minutes watched on computers or mobile devices. The ratings only measure U.S. audiences, not those in other countries. The top streaming titles for Nov. 21-27 are below.

Overall

1. Wednesday (Netflix), 5.99 billion minutes viewed
2. Dead to Me (Netflix), 1.46 billion
3. 1899 (Netflix), 1.11 billion
3 (tie). The Crown (Netflix), 1.11 billion
5. Slumberland (Netflix), 1.06 billion
6. Manifest (Netflix), 988 million
7. NCIS (Netflix), 811 million
8. Yellowstone (Peacock), 736 million
9. The Noel Diary (Netflix), 707 million
10. Cocomelon (Netflix), 702 million

Original Series

1. Wednesday, 5.99 billion minutes
2. Dead to Me, 1.46 billion
3. 1899, 1.11 billion
3 (tie). The Crown, 1.11 billion
5. Manifest, 988 million
6. Andor (Disney+), 674 million
7. Pepsi, Where’s My Jet? (Netflix), 445 million
8. The Santa Clauses (Disney+), 372 million
9. Inside Job (Netflix), 360 million
10. The Great British Baking Show (Netflix), 344 million

Acquired Series

1. NCIS, 811 million minutes
2. Yellowstone, 736 million
3. Cocomelon, 702 million
4. Friends (HBO Max), 660 million
5. Bluey (Disney+), 630 million
6. Gilmore Girls (Netflix), 610 million
7. Grey’s Anatomy (Netflix), 593 million
8. Criminal Minds (Hulu/Paramount+), 550 million
9. The Blacklist (Netflix), 469 million
10. The Big Bang Theory (HBO Max), 452 million