Throughout 2025, the Samba TV Wrap report has largely been a tale of two streamers. HBO Max and Netflix have held the top spot nearly every week, with a few notable exceptions (we see you, “Landman” and “Alien: Earth”).
Break things down a bit further, and we’re really looking at a battle between release strategies. HBO Max had a tight grip, maintaining a majority of weeks in the top spot from June 2024 until June of this year, thanks to just four series: “House of the Dragon,” “The Penguin,” “The White Lotus,” and “The Last of Us.”
That run had this very column wondering if Netflix’s binge model was losing popularity with viewers, but time has proven that you can’t count the binge model out yet. HBO Max’s last number one was 16 weeks ago. Netflix has held the top spot for 15 of those 16 weeks with nine different titles, including this week’s new chart topper, “Black Rabbit.” Hulu’s “Alien: Earth” was the only title to put a temporary halt to the streamer’s 16-week run.
HBO Max series have made the Top 10, including the streamer’s current Sunday-night title, “Task.” Yet none of those have caught on enough with viewers to dominate the way the previous big four titles had. Nor are they enough to stem an avalanche of Netflix content: the streamer has placed a whopping 39 different titles on the Top 10 since early June, including seven on this week’s chart.
So, what are the titles on this week’s Top 10? Sitting in the top spot is Netflix’s new “Black Rabbit.” The combined star power of Jude Law and Jason Bateman drew 2 million U.S. households to watch the thriller miniseries in its debut weekend.
In second is “Ice Road: Vengeance,” serving as yet another example of the strength of the platform. The movie is not a Netflix original, but Liam Neeson’s pivot to action star has proven to be a popular choice, as the film racked up eyeballs when it was made available on streaming.
“The Summer I Turned Pretty,” a true hit for Prime Video, rises all the way to third this week as it added its series finale. The show broke out in its third season, spending 10 straight weeks on the Top 10.
Two more Netflix titles are next, as the rom-com movie “The Wrong Paris” climbs to fourth from tenth in its second week on the charts. Meanwhile, the documentary series “aka Charlie Sheen” heads in the other direction, sliding down two spots to fifth.
“Alien: Earth,” the only non-Netflix title to top the chart in nearly four months, returns this week after a several-week absence. The series wrapped on Sept. 23, so check back next week for the finale viewership.
Netflix’s most-popular series, “Wednesday,” falls from number one down to seventh this week, but please don’t shed any tears for the Addams Family scion. The show’s second season spent four of the past six weeks at the top, aided by Netflix’s two-part release strategy.
“The Terminal List: Dark Wolf,” another Prime Video hit, falls three spots this week, down to eight. The action series will add its seventh and final episode to streaming on Sept. 24.
Could this be the last we see of “KPop Demon Hunters?” The animated film is ninth this week, its lowest placement since July. Still, the global phenomenon has spent 13 weeks in the Top 10 – now 12 straight – a true outlier for both Netflix and streaming in general.
Finally, in tenth, we have “Beauty in Black,” the latest from writer, director and producer Tyler Perry. Remarkably, of those 39 Netflix titles that have charted since June, Perry has had a hand in three of them.
Changing the channel to linear TV, we find much more variety than we’ve seen in recent weeks. “Dancing With the Stars” kicks things off, as viewers were clearly delighted to have the show return for its 34th season on ABC.
“High Potential,” the ABC crime drama starring Kaitlin Olson, debuts at number two this week. It’s the lone scripted show on the linear chart this week, having clearly built some buzz ahead of its second season.
Season 20 of “America’s Got Talent” grabs two spots this week, third and sixth, as the popular competition reached its semifinal round. The three-part finale kicks off on Sept. 23 on NBC.
There’s even more musical performances on the chart this week, with two tributes to legendary institutions. “Opry 100: A Live Celebration” is fourth as NBC re-aired the March 19 tribute to the iconic country music program. There’s also “A Grammy Salute to Earth, Wind & Fire,” where stars like Janelle Monae and Stevie Wonder paid tribute to the pioneering band.
Meanwhile, “Remembering Charlie Kirk” came in fifth as the memorial was televised across networks to the tune of 3.2 million U.S. households when it aired.
The game show “99 to Beat” on Fox gets that lovely post-NFL viewership bump this week, putting it in ninth. Last but not least, we couldn’t have a linear Top 10 without “Wheel of Fortune.”
The Wrap Report provides an exclusive first look at the most-watched movies and TV series from the past week across both streaming and linear television, sourced from viewership trends collected from Samba TV’s panel of more than 3 million households, balanced to the U.S. Census.
