What the UK Watched in 2025: British Dramas Dominate, Vatican-Themed Viewing, and What’s Ahead for 2026
It was a year filled with plot twists, unexpected hits, and unstoppable blockbusters. To celebrate, JustWatch has released its list of the biggest films and series of 2025 so far, based on insights from more than 60 million streamers worldwide. From the best family films to the darkest horror thrillers, this detailed report analyses thirteen data points that reveal audience behaviour and streaming preferences both globally and across the United Kingdom.
Key Takeaways from JustWatch 2025 Rewind
● Long Awaited Returns: Several major series returned after more than two years off air. Standout comebacks included Severance Season 2, Squid Game Season 3, The Last of Us Season 2, and Stranger Things Season 5.
● Streambacks: Many franchises returned to cinemas this summer, prompting audiences to revisit the originals in large numbers. 28 Days Later (2002) and Wicked (2024) both saw noticeable spikes in streaming interest during the release of their sequels.
● Vatican-Themed Viewing: Conclave (2024) experienced a major surge in popularity in February around the Oscars, followed by a second spike in April when the Vatican convened to elect a new Pope.
● UK-produced shows on top: Adolescence and Dept. Q secured the number one and two positions in the UK and maintained strong momentum internationally, ranking highly across several European markets including Spain, Germany, and France.
● Gearing up for 2026: Among the most anticipated returning series for 2026 are Euphoria (Season 3), Wednesday (Season 3), and Alien: Earth (Season 2).
Most Popular Movies in the UK on Streaming in 2025
Drawing on UK streaming activity from 1 December 2024 to 9 December 2025, these are the films and series that captured the nation’s attention.
Most Popular Movies Most Popular Series
For the full top 20 list, see here:
2025’s Biggest Films and Series on Streaming (UK)
● Vatican-themed Viewing : Conclave experienced a substantial rise in popularity in February, driven by heightened attention during the Oscars season. Interest spiked again in April when the Vatican convened to elect a new Pope, prompting viewers to revisit papal-themed dramas and political thrillers. This renewed attention underscored how real-world events and awards buzz can meaningfully shape streaming behaviour.
● UK-Produced Titles on Top: Adolescence and Dept. Q secured the number 1 and 2 positions in the UK and continued their momentum globally, with Adolescence becoming the top new series in the US and Spain, and placing in the top three in Germany and France. For films, the UK co-production Conclave dominated as well, topping the list of most streamed movies in the US, Germany, Italy, and Spain.
● Long Awaited Returns: Many top-ten shows returned after a two-plus-year hiatus. Severance led the pack with the biggest Season 2 comeback, followed by The Last of Us, The White Lotus, Squid Game, and Stranger Things (Not pictured at #11).
● Horror Renaissance: 28 Days Later, The Substance, and Frankenstein all topped the charts, signalling a major surge in popularity for the film genre. In series, Steven King adaptations, including The Institute and IT: Welcome to Derry (Not pictured at #13) performed very well, as well as the brand new horror sci-fi series Alien: Earth.
● Awards Favourites Dominate: Oscar contenders Conclave, The Substance, and Anora all landed in the overall top five. In addition, Emmy nominated shows, including Adolescence, Severance, The White Lotus, Slow Horses, and The Last of Us.
● Streambacks: With several franchises and reboots returning to cinemas this year, audiences flocked back to the originals in large numbers. This trend was especially evident with 28 Days Later and Wicked, both of which saw pronounced spikes in streaming interest during the theatrical releases of their sequels.
● Apple TV+ Hits Its Stride: Severance, Pluribus, and Slow Horses delivered strong performance and broad audience engagement.
● Newcomers Dominate: Fresh releases made a strong showing this year, with five of the top ten series and films being brand-new titles. Whether debuting in cinemas, arriving straight to streaming, or launching their first season, newcomers captured a significant share of viewer attention.
Genre Breakouts: Top Titles in Comedy, Drama, Action, Family, and Horror
Gearing Up for 2026: What are the most Anticipated Series coming to streaming?
By applying a weighted scoring system across several user-interaction signals, we uncovered which upcoming series UK viewers are most eager to watch in 2026.
1. Euphoria – NOW (S3)
2. Wednesday– Netflix (S3)
3. Alien: Earth– Disney+ (S2)
Media Assets:
To access all of the assets found in this report, please visit:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1zt2IsdcJrIcHpl1zmbO-mn30G4-bPAGt?usp=sharing
Methodology
The analysis for the JustWatch Rewind 2025 End of Year Campaign examines comprehensive streaming consumption trends between 1 December 2024 and 9 December 2025, focusing on SVOD interactions from users based in the United Kingdom.
All popularity metrics are based on JustWatch user interactions, aggregated and weighted to reflect meaningful intent to watch, discover, or engage with content.
Content Popularity (Films and Series)
Rankings are based on the maximum 30-day popularity score achieved between 1 December 2024 and 9 December 2025.
This score is a weighted composite metric based on user interactions, including:
● watchlist additions
● likelist additions
● title-page views
● click-outs to streaming providers (intent to stream)
● individual searches for titles
Weighting ensures that high-intent signals (e.g., click-outs) have a proportionally stronger influence than browsing behaviours.
Top Titles by Genre
We applied the 30-day popularity score across the year to determine the strongest-performing genres — with a particular focus on drama, comedy, action, family, and horror.
Anticipated Titles
To measure anticipation for 2026 series releases, we generated a weighted anticipation score, combining:
● watchlist additions
● likelist additions
● title-page views
● trailer views
This weighted average highlights upcoming titles with the strongest early engagement and forward-looking audience interest among UK users.
About JustWatch
JustWatch is the world’s leading streaming guide, helping millions discover where to legally watch movies, series, and live sports across hundreds of global streaming platforms. The company serves over 60 million users per month in more than 140 countries. Headquartered in Berlin, JustWatch also has offices in New York, Los Angeles, Paris, Munich, and London. In addition, JustWatch provides advertising and audience insights solutions for the entertainment industry.
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