Stranger Things and Obi-Wan Tout Record Viewership

Memorial Day weekend brought two major franchise releases — Netflix's Stranger Things Season 4 and Disney+'s Star Wars: Obi-Wan Kenobi — prompting a battle of fandoms as the two series competed for eyeballs. In the wake of opening weekend, both streaming services are touting "record viewership" numbers.

Netflix announced Tuesday that Stranger Things had the "biggest premiere weekend ever" for any original series, amassing 286.79 million hours viewed. This release puts Stranger Things 4 ahead of the release of Bridgerton Season 2, which was viewed for 193 million hours. The streaming service also said that according to their own metrics, the show has become #1 in 83 countries.

Over on Disney+, the streaming service announced via Twitter that the long-awaited Obi-Wan Kenobi was its "most-watched" original series premiere globally, based on hours streamed over its opening weekend. Disney+ also noted that following the release of the new series, viewership of other Star Wars titles tripled. As the entirety of Obi-Wan Kenobi hasn't been released yet, it remains to be seen which sci-fi universe ultimately reigns supreme.

Stranger Things Season 4, Volume 1 is available to stream on Netflix. Volume 2 will be released on July 1.

The first two episodes of Obi-Wan Kenobi are streaming on Disney+, with additional episodes dropping every Wednesday.

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Kirstie Renae is a writer, blogger, and Austin-based actress with a penchant for binge-watching TV with her dogs. Follow her on Twitter @KirstieRenae.