The End of an Era: How Streaming Giants Are Scrambling for Their Next Tentpole Series
The final season of Stranger Things marks the end of Netflix’s first era of ascension, leaving a void in the streaming giant’s release calendar. With its ability to drive subscription growth, generate addiction-level hours of viewing, and mint money, Stranger Things has been the most popular TV series behind only Game of Thrones since its debut in 2016.
Streaming is a hits-driven business, and every major player needs a tentpole series to anchor its results. As Stranger Things closes, it’s essential to pinpoint the most important actively running flagship TV series of the streaming era. Using a mix of viewership, revenue, longevity, and franchise potential, here are the shows doing their best to hold up their respective streamers.
Netflix: Stranger Things and the Quest for a New Flagship
In 2022, Stranger Things was the most-watched U.S. streaming original at 52 billion minutes, according to Nielsen. Even after three years without new episodes, it ranked as the 17th most-watched streaming original over the first half of 2025. The four-episode Season 5 premiere in November drew the largest first-week global audience for an English-language Netflix series, second all-time only to Squid Game Season 2’s debut.
While Squid Game generated the most estimated global revenue for Netflix, it’s finished now. Wednesday’s second season became Netflix’s fourth most-watched English series ever, but dropped 50 percent compared to Season 1. In the absence of Stranger Things, the market-leading streamer faces a void on its release calendar with no obvious fill.
Amazon Prime Video: The Boys and Reacher
Like Netflix, Amazon is nearing the end of a flagship run. The hyper-violent superhero satire The Boys will conclude after its upcoming fifth season, having ranked in the Top 15 streaming originals twice. Amazon is planning a 1950s-set prequel series and a Spanish-language series, but earlier spin-offs didn’t quite break out despite being well-liked.
Fortunately for Amazon, Reacher has emerged as the streamer’s next heavyweight over its first three seasons. In 2024, it ranked 10th among Nielsen’s U.S. streaming originals and climbed to fifth overall in 2025, per Samba TV’s State of Streaming report. This has made it Prime Video’s biggest TV windfall over the last year, with an estimated $132 million in revenue contribution.
Disney+: The Mandalorian and the Star Wars Universe
The Mandalorian helped Disney+’s launch outperform all reasonable expectations in the platform’s first year of existence. Since 2020, it has landed twice among Nielsen’s ten most-watched series while becoming the linchpin of the streamer’s small-screen Star Wars universe.
This May, the show will make the leap to the big screen with The Mandalorian & Grogu, Star Wars’ first big-screen outing since 2019’s disappointing The Rise of Skywalker. Translating TV fandom into theatre ticket sales is far from guaranteed, but brand power ensures a high floor. The bigger question: Does this movie spell the end of the series?
HBO Max: The White Lotus and the Power of HBO Titles
HBO titles make up just 14 percent of HBO Max’s library, yet drive more than 18 percent of its audience demand, per Parrot. The premium cable network is television’s flagship brand, and it continues to deliver streaming value. The White Lotus, in all of its original esoteric glory, may now be the service’s top title.
Samba TV named it 2025’s most-streamed U.S. show overall with the year’s fourth-largest two-week viewership debut. From January to June, the upstairs-downstairs dynamic of the murder mystery anthology was Nielsen’s 16th most-watched series on streaming and generated an estimated $124 million for HBO Max over the past year, per Parrot.
Apple TV: Severance and Ted Lasso
Ted Lasso transformed the early identity of Apple TV+, evolving from a feel-good sitcom to a prestige dramedy. It ranked as the 12th most-watched show of 2021 and the top overall original of 2023, per Nielsen, despite the streamer’s small subscriber base. But Season 3 closed the original chapter, and while a continuation is in development, it’s unclear if Ted Lasso will remain a juggernaut after another long wait.
In its place, the heady thriller Severance became a prestige breakout in its second season. Over the first half of this year, it was the fifth most-watched streaming original, per Nielsen, and led all Apple TV shows in estimated revenue contribution, per Parrot. Apple calls it its top series ever based on unique viewers in the first month of its sophomore run.
As the streaming landscape continues to evolve, one thing is clear: the next tentpole series will play a crucial role in determining the success of these streaming giants. With Stranger Things ending, the competition for the next big hit is heating up. Read more about the streaming wars and the quest for the next tentpole series Here
Image Source: observer.com
