The Office Was the Most-Watched Show on Any Streaming Service in 2020

Some may have thought it strange to see streaming services paying hundreds of millions of dollars just to secure the exclusive rights to older sitcoms, but the numbers have once again backed up the spending. Everyone knew that The Office was immensely popular throughout its run on Netflix, right up until it made its way over to Peacock on January 1st. What folks may not know, however, is just how much viewership The Office brought to Netflix. The series, which aired its finale nearly eight years ago, was the most-watched title on any streaming service throughout all of 2020. Nothing else was even close.

Nielsen released its numbers for the top TV shows and movies on streaming services from last year, and The Office stood tall against all of its competition. Over the course of 2020, 57.13 billion minutes of The Office were watched by Netflix users in the United States. The second-highest ranking series was Grey’s Anatomy, with 39.41 billion minutes watched, nearly 20 billion less than The Office.

Original programs that were released on streamers last year weren’t able to come close to the numbers The Office was posting, despite having the benefit of being brand new. The most-watched original show on any streaming service was Ozark, with just over 30 billion minutes streamed across the country. That’s certainly a lot, but titles like The Office and Grey’s Anatomy proved just how effective the binge model can be with older titles.

Below, you can check out Nielsen’s Top 10 streaming originals in 2020, followed by the Top 10 acquired shows.

Original Series

1. Ozark (Netflix) – 30.46 billion (minutes)
2. Lucifer (Netflix) – 18.95 billion
3. The Crown (Netflix) – 16.28 billion
4. Tiger King (Netflix) – 15.61 billion
5. The Mandalorian (Disney+) – 14.52 billion
6. The Umbrella Academy (Netflix) – 13.47 billion
7. The Great British Baking Show (Netflix) – 13.28 billion
8. Boss Baby: Back in Business (Netflix) – 12.63 billion
9. Longmire (Netflix) – 11.38 billion
10. You (Netflix) – 10.97 billion

Acquired Series

1. The Office (Netflix) – 57.13 billion
2. Grey’s Anatomy (Netflix) – 39.41 billion
3. Criminal Minds (Netflix) – 35.41 billion
4. NCIS (Netflix) – 28.13 billion
5. Schitt’s Creek (Netflix) – 23.79 billion
6. Supernatural (Netflix) – 20.34 billion
7. Shameless (Netflix) – 18.22 billion
8. New Girl (Netflix) – 14.55 billion
9. The Blacklist (Netflix) – 14.48 billion
10. The Vampire Diaries (Netflix) – 14.09 billion

Were you surprised by any of the shows on these lists? Which TV series did you watch most in 2020? Let us know in the comments!