More than 20% of American households currently pay for two or more streaming subscriptions.[1] Between originals and long-standing classics, viewers now have instant access to thousands of streaming selections. However, which ones stand out above the rest?

To discover each state’s favorite show to stream, All About Cookies collected data on the top 10 shows on six different major streaming platforms in the U.S. in 2022.

The most popular streaming show in every state

Data was collected on 60 popular streaming shows, 10 each from HBO Max, Netflix, Hulu, Disney+, Apple TV+, and Amazon Prime. Across the country, 28 different shows were most popular in at least one state, and each streaming service had the most popular show in at least four states.

The most popular streaming shows overall

The most popular show overall was HBO’s “Euphoria,” which took top honors in seven states. After a successful first season in 2019, two hour-long specials are all fans had to hold them over before season two was released in 2022. That lengthy break between seasons may have helped boost excitement enough for this already buzz-worthy show to push it to the top of these rankings.

Another HBO show finished in second place in the overall rankings, but it is one that isn’t actually airing new episodes. That would be “Game of Thrones,” which was the most popular streaming show in six different states last year. While the show concluded its run in 2019, it was a major hit and pop culture touchstone for the better part of a decade.

Despite fan complaints about how the show ended, the show was so beloved that HBO is currently working on eight different spin-off shows, looking to turn the world of “Game of Thrones” into a sprawling mega-franchise. The first of those spin-offs, “House of the Dragon,” hit screens last year and may have had a hand in “Game of Thrones”’ overall popularity in 2022 as fans went back to rewatch their favorite “GoT” episodes in anticipation of the spin-off.

Streaming services with the most top shows

Given how popular “Euphoria” and “Game of Thrones” were, it should come as no surprise that HBO Max is the streaming service offering the most popular shows in the most states. All told, HBO shows were most popular in 15 different states, a full five states ahead of the second-place service, Hulu.

What we do for the shows we love

In addition to analyzing search data on the most popular streaming shows in the country, we also surveyed 1,500 U.S. adults about the lengths they have gone to in order to watch their favorite shows. Nearly two-thirds of people, 64%, said that they have previously subscribed to a streaming service specifically to watch a single show or movie. Of that group, only 17% of people said they actually canceled that subscription afterward.

In fact, more than half of the respondents (51%) who subscribed to a service for a single piece of content later decided they liked the other offerings on that service enough to justify keeping their subscription active. An additional 20% said the show they subscribed for is still airing and only 12% said the only reason they still have an active subscription is because they forgot to cancel.

Although this analysis focused on shows that are popular and easily available via streaming services in the U.S., those same shows aren’t available to everyone around the world, even if they subscribe to the same services.

Streaming rights agreements can differ depending on where you are in the world, and as a result certain shows and movies may be available to watch in one country but not in another. Beyond that some content and even services may be exclusive to people living in specific countries.

One way to get around these kinds of restrictions is to use a virtual private network, or VPN, to make streaming services think you are accessing them from an eligible country. This is a fairly simple and straightforward approach to viewing otherwise inaccessible content, and one that more than one-in-five people (22%) say they have used before.

Bottom line

• Organize your passwords for each platform. It can be easy to lose track of all your different passwords when subscribed to multiple streaming platforms, so use a password manager to keep them all organized.
• Get access to titles outside of the U.S. Knowing how to watch Netflix with a VPN can be a helpful tool for not only more secure browsing, but accessing titles not yet available in your country.
• Better internet speed, better stream quality. Learn how to increase internet speed so your binge-watching sessions aren’t delayed by buffering.

Methodology

All About Cookies collected data on the top 10 shows on each streaming platform according to FlixPatrol's rankings for the United States in 2022.

In Hulu’s case, we only focused on the top 10 original streaming shows produced by and released on Hulu or exclusively for FX on Hulu, excluding shows created and released by other networks and platforms.

In the case of Disney+, “Mickey Mouse Clubhouse” and “Jessie” were excluded due to the age of the shows. For the shows listed as skipped or excluded the next-highest qualifying show on each service was used instead.

Data was collected from Google Trends in January 2023, with search parameters set to cover "The United States" for the time frame covering the "Full Year-2022." Ties within a state were broken by comparing tied shows directly in Google Trends with the specific state chosen as the geography.

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Author Details

Josh Koebert

About the Author

Josh Koebert is an experienced content marketer that loves exploring how tech overlaps with topics such as sports, food, pop culture, and more. His work has been featured on sites such as CNN, ESPN, Business Insider, and Lifehacker.