Netflix’s 3 Most-Watched Shows Ever Have This 1 Thing In Common

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Despite their differences, Netflix’s three most popular shows – Wednesday, Stranger Things, and Adolescence – share a common thread. These shows are quite diverse: Squid Game is a thrilling and thought-provoking sci-fi series, Stranger Things evokes nostalgia with its small-town mystery, and Adolescence is a somber and realistic British drama.

At first glance, the streaming service’s most popular shows might seem quite different from each other. While English-language shows generally make up the top ten, not all of them are from the US or UK. With the highly anticipated release of Stranger Things season 5 coming up, it’s easy to assume that big-budget, popular genre shows are the only ones succeeding.

While Netflix has huge hits like Wednesday, Squid Game, and Stranger Things, it also regularly releases successful, smaller-scale shows such as Fool Me Once and The Queen’s Gambit. Every now and then, a historical drama like Bridgerton also becomes popular, showing that it’s hard to predict what will be a hit on Netflix.

You know, I’ve been thinking about what makes Netflix shows so popular, and it’s not always what you’d guess. I’ve noticed something really interesting when looking at their biggest hits – they all seem to focus on people going through similar life stages, especially that coming-of-age period. It’s like they’ve really tapped into a universal experience that resonates with a lot of viewers, and that’s probably a big reason why those shows are so successful!

Netflix’s 3 Most-Watched Shows Are All About Adolescent Outcast Protagonists

As of November 2025, the three most popular shows on Netflix are Wednesday, Stranger Things, and Adolescence. Interestingly, all three center around teenage characters who feel like outsiders. Despite very different beginnings – the first episode of Stranger Things is quite different from the start of Adolescence – this common theme is a key element of their success.

The show Stranger Things centers around a group of kids growing up in a small American town in the 1980s. While later seasons toned things down, the first season realistically showed some of the harsh realities of the time, including casual prejudice, unfair judgment of girls, and a lack of parental supervision. Bullying was also portrayed as particularly severe.

Though a fresh take on the Addams Family stories, Wednesday shares similarities with shows like Stranger Things. Both center around a teenage girl with unique powers who feels like an outcast because of them.

Jenna Ortega’s character, Wednesday, is strong and assertive, but she often finds it difficult to convince adults to listen to her worries or take her seriously. The first season’s finale shows that not all adults are trustworthy, and a key part of Wednesday’s journey is learning to rely on herself and become more independent.

“Adolescence” is the newest and most disturbing show on this list, focusing on the tragic murder of a teenage girl by a fellow student. The series explores the mind of Jamie, a seemingly normal boy whose difficult family life, loneliness, and online habits lead him down a dangerous path into the world of the “Manosphere.”

Netflix’s 3 Biggest Shows All Explore Adolescent Angst Very Differently

Unlike shows like Wednesday and Stranger Things, Adolescence doesn’t present its main character as a hero. Instead, Jamie is a deeply troubled character whose actions serve as a warning, and the adults around him try to figure out why he did what he did, hoping to prevent similar events in the future. The ending leaves viewers wondering if they were successful.

Beyond shifting the focus away from the main teenage character, Adolescence stands out from shows like Wednesday in other ways too. While Wednesday mixes quirky humor with fantastical elements similar to Harry Potter, Adolescence is a much more realistic and down-to-earth character study.

When Stranger Things first began, it felt similar to the movie Adolescence, but with the added elements of government secrets and creatures from other worlds. As the show leaned more into its 80s-inspired style and references, it became more comedic and expansive in its second and third seasons.

By the fourth season of Stranger Things, Max’s story helped prove the show was deeply exploring the inner lives of its young characters. However, the series had largely transformed from a story about teenage life into a large-scale science fiction and fantasy adventure.

Why So Many Successful Netflix Shows Follow Adolescent Leads

Many popular Netflix shows center around young teenagers, and there’s a common idea why: that age is a time when almost everyone feels like they don’t quite fit in. Shows geared towards older teens or younger children tend to stay within those specific age groups, but stories about early adolescence often appeal to a much wider audience.

I’ve noticed something interesting about shows geared towards younger teens – they often appeal to adults too, which really expands their potential viewership. But here’s the funny part: an adult admitting they watch something like Outer Banks, Riverdale, or even Bluey usually feels the need to add, ‘Oh, it’s just a guilty pleasure!’ It’s like there’s a social expectation that these shows aren’t ‘serious’ enough for grown-up tastes, even if we secretly enjoy them.

However, an adult could easily mention watching Wednesday, Stranger Things, and Adolescence – even though they’re very different shows – without anyone questioning it. These shows all tap into the universal feeling of being misunderstood as a teenager, and that’s what made them so popular and cemented their place among Netflix’s best series.

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2025-11-05 23:09