Is 'Stranger Things' the Hottest Netflix Series Ever?

According to one TV ratings company, the Netflix original series Stranger Things is raking in many more viewers than many other popular Netflix originals, including the massively popular Making a Murderer. Netflix itself, though, refuses to confirm the claim, and the service continues to keep its viewership numbers a closely guarded secret.

According to Symphony Advanced Media, Stranger Things drew more than 14 million viewers during its first month of availability for streaming. That would make it more popular, again according to Symphony's numbers, than Jessica Jones or Daredevil, and only slightly behind Orange is the New Black and Fuller House.

Symphony's ratings-gathering method, however, has been controversial. The company uses audio data gathered from participating households to determine what the household's viewers are watching on TV; it listens in and then guesses at what program is playing. Since Netflix won't release viewership data, services like Symphony's and a similar service offered by Nielsen are the only way to figure out who is watching Netflix and what they're watching on the service.

Netflix claims that Symphony's numbers are inaccurate, pointing out that its viewership totals for series differ by a huge margin from those turned in by Nielsen's service.