We have 44,000 TV series in our database. Every genre, every country, every decade. Each one carries a vote count — the number of people who cared enough to rate it — and an average score.
Vote count is the closest proxy we have for viewership at scale. A show with 26,000 ratings didn’t get there by being niche. It got there by being unavoidable.
Here are the 15 series that the most people watched, rated, and argued about.
1. Game of Thrones — 26,246 votes, 8.46 rating
Game of Thrones leads by a massive margin. Over 26,000 ratings — 27% more than second place. The cultural dominance is baked into the numbers. An 8.46 average despite a widely criticized final season means the first six seasons were so good they absorbed the damage.
2. Stranger Things — 20,610 votes, 8.58 rating
Stranger Things sits at 20,610 with a higher score than Game of Thrones. Netflix’s biggest hit ever by engagement, and the data confirms it. No other streaming-original series cracks the top 5.
3. Money Heist — 19,256 votes, 8.23 rating
Money Heist (La Casa de Papel) proved non-English shows can compete at the highest level. 19,256 ratings for a Spanish-language crime drama. Netflix’s international bet paid off before Squid Game made it obvious.
4. The Walking Dead — 17,500 votes, 8.09 rating
The Walking Dead at 17,500 votes but the lowest score in the top 5 at 8.09. The data tells the story: massive early audience, steady decline, but enough people stuck around for 11 seasons to keep the vote count astronomical.
5. Squid Game — 17,143 votes, 7.86 rating
Squid Game hit 17,143 ratings despite only having two seasons. The lowest-rated show in the top 5 at 7.86 but arguably the fastest to accumulate votes. Nothing in TV history went this viral this fast.
6. Breaking Bad — 17,067 votes, 8.94 rating
Breaking Bad holds the highest rating of any show on this list at 8.94. Sixth in total votes but first in quality. The gap between Breaking Bad’s score and everyone else’s is larger than the gap between second and tenth place. It’s not close.
7. Lucifer — 15,292 votes, 8.44 rating
Lucifer at 15,292 is the surprise entry. Cancelled by Fox, saved by Netflix, and quietly became one of the most-engaged shows in TV history. The data says what the awards circuit ignored.
8. The Big Bang Theory — 12,220 votes, 7.91 rating
The Big Bang Theory is the only pure comedy in the top 10. 12,220 votes at 7.91 — lower-rated but massively watched. 12 seasons of consistent viewership that most prestige dramas would kill for.
9. The Boys — 11,582 votes, 8.44 rating
The Boys represents the anti-superhero wave. 11,582 ratings at 8.44 — one of the highest scores on this list. Amazon’s biggest original series by engagement, and it’s still running.
10. Peaky Blinders — 10,783 votes, 8.53 rating
Peaky Blinders at 10,783 proves slow-burn audience building works. Started on BBC Two — not exactly prime real estate — and grew into a global phenomenon across six seasons. High score, high engagement, zero hype machine.
11. The Mandalorian — 10,714 votes, 8.41 rating
The Mandalorian launched Disney+ and sits at 10,714 votes. The Star Wars franchise’s most successful TV bet. Baby Yoda did the marketing; the writing kept people rating.
12. Rick and Morty — 10,660 votes, 8.68 rating
Rick and Morty holds a 8.68 — second highest on the entire list behind Breaking Bad. Animation competing with live-action prestige TV and winning on quality metrics. 10,660 voters agree.
What the Data Shows
Streaming changed everything. 8 of the top 15 are streaming-era shows. Money Heist, Squid Game, Lucifer, and Stranger Things all owe their vote counts to global Netflix distribution.
Quality and popularity are different metrics. Breaking Bad is the best-rated show on this list but only sixth in total engagement. Game of Thrones is the most-watched but rates below shows with half its audience.
Top shows expand beyond viewership into fan identity. Across major franchises, curated fandom personality quizzes and character debates have become part of the engagement cycle itself. Entire ecosystems of analysis and alignment discussions form around these series, reflecting how strongly audiences connect to the people inside the story.
Non-English shows compete now. Money Heist and Squid Game are both top 5. Five years ago, that would have been unthinkable.
Browse all 44,000 series with ratings, genres, and streaming data on DropThe.