Cr. COURTESY OF NETFLIX © 2025
If 2025 taught us anything about the current streaming landscape, it’s that audience retention is the hardest battle Netflix faces. A new analysis from Netflix & Chiffres reveals that the recent trend of series returning and struggling to outperform their predecessors continues: almost every major English-language series that returned in 2025 saw a decline in viewership.
For years, we’ve tracked the elusive “renewal metrics,” but the data from the past year makes one thing clear: audience erosion is the new normal. While Netflix continues to dominate the streaming wars, keeping subscribers glued to the screen for Season 2, 3, or 4 is proving difficult.
Based on a new report by former What’s on Netflix contributor Frédéric, now exclusively at Netflix & Chiffres, we know that 2025 did not see a reversal in the trend of Netflix shows losing audience season over season based on titles’ views (completed viewing equivalents) over the first 28 days of their release.
This matches what we saw throughout 2024; only one major English-language show actually grew its audience last year, with that being Bridgerton. In 2023, the number of titles was a bit higher.
The methodology here compares the first 28 days of a new season against the comparable timeframe of the previous season.
The Anomaly: Stranger Things
Performance: +2.25%
Defying all industry logic, Stranger Things remains the unicorn of the streaming world. The first batch of episodes for the final season saw a 2.25% increase over Season 4. In an era of double-digit drops, the fact that the Hawkins crew gained viewers this late in the game is historic. While the series is ending, it is doing so on a high note that no other current Netflix Original can claim, yes, not even Squid Game or Wednesday, Netflix’s two biggest titles based on the all-time list, can boast this.
The “Sticky” Shows: Low Erosion (<10%)
Cr. Amanda Matlovich/Netflix © 2025
These shows are the “efficiency monsters.” They may not all be global blockbusters on the scale of Squid Game, but their audience is incredibly loyal. A drop of less than 10% is considered a massive win in the current climate.
- Ginny & Georgia (Season 3): Down just 5%. A remarkable hold that secured its renewal for Season 4 (and likely Season 5).
- The Diplomat (Season 3): Down 6.3%. While it didn’t hit the massive “20M views in 14 days” blockbuster threshold, the prestige factor and low drop-off secured it a Season 4.
- Tyler Perry’s Beauty in Black (Season 2): Down 7.9%.
- My Life With The Walter Boys (Season 2): Down 9.6%.
Long story short, if you can keep 90% of your audience, you are almost guaranteed a renewal, even if your raw numbers aren’t stratospheric. Interesting with all of these titles was that they actually received “early” renewals, i.e., Netflix gave the thumbs up well in advance or, at the very least, began developing new seasons early.
The Danger Zone: Massive Drop-offs (>40%)
Picture: Netflix
This is where things get rather brutal, but in some instances, their drops are from such insane heights that they don’t matter in the grand scheme of things. Several high-profile shows hemorrhaged viewers. However, the consequences of those drops varied wildly depending on how high the show started.
The “Too Big to Fail” Group
- The Night Agent (Season 2): Dropped 44.7%. A heavy correction from its surprise hit debut, but raw numbers remained high enough to justify the pre-ordered renewals.
- Wednesday (Season 2): Dropped 42.6%. Despite losing a massive chunk of its Season 1 viral audience, it still crossed 100M CVEs. It is safe, though the report suggests Season 3 could be the end.
The “Prestige” Save
- Nobody Wants This (Season 2): Dropped 40.1%. Statistically, this should be on the bubble. However, the Kristen Bell/Adam Brody vehicle performs well at the Emmys, earning it a “Prestige Renewal.”
The Flops and Cancelations
Meanwhile, shows like The Recruit prove that if you lose 40% of your audience and don’t have awards hardware or massive raw viewership to fall back on, the algorithm will not be kind. All of the below were canceled or have already been announced to be ending.
- FUBAR (Season 2): Dropped 75.9%. CANCELED. The biggest flop of the year. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s action-comedy shed three-quarters of its viewers, leading to an inevitable cancellation.
- The Sandman (Season 2): Dropped 60%. Between the long wait and the Neil Gaiman controversy, the audience evaporated.
- The Witcher (Season 4): Dropped 52%. The Liam Hemsworth era began with a thud. Alienating the core fanbase resulted in losing half the audience. The show is limping toward a conclusion only because it was pre-renewed.
Picture: Netflix and Chiffres
- The Recruit (Season 2): Dropped 42.1%. CANCELED. Unlike Wednesday, Noah Centineo’s spy thriller didn’t have the raw numbers to survive a 40% drop.
Other Notable Movements
- Emily in Paris (Season 5): Down roughly 20.5%. The shine is wearing off, but it remains a staple.
- Black Mirror (Season 7): Down 21.4%. As an anthology, erosion matters less here, but the drop is noticeable.
- You (Season 5): Down 32.1%. The series finale came at the right time, as audience fatigue had set in.
Shows like Tires (-14%) and XO, Kitty (-18.5%) survived because their decay was manageable. There are also shows that have limited viewership, which didn’t enter the weekly top 10s, so we can’t accurately judge. A Man on the Inside looks like it was among those titles with a drop of at least 40%, but could easily fall in the camp of prestige renewals. Survival of the Thickest and Mo are also unclear, given their track records in the top 10s.
Are you surprised that only one show grew its audience in 2025? Let us know in the comments.
