- 8 in 10 Brits admit to binge-watching TV shows
- Game of Thrones is the series with the most episodes scoring over 9 stars
- The worst episode on the list was episode 9 season 12 of Dexter- which got only 4.8 stars
- Over 1 in 10 Brits watch an average of 5 episodes during a binge
A whopping 40 million British adults (that’s 8 in 10!) admit to using catch-up TV or streaming services (like Netflix) to watch multiple episodes of a series in one sitting, according to Ofcom.
Always looking for the next binge-worthy show, British marketplace and box-set seller OnBuy.com has discovered the most popular episodes of shows to determine what we should all add next to our watchlist.
To find out the top 10 episodes of TV ever made, Onbuy.com ordered IMDB’s “Most Popular TV Shows” list by the number of votes the show had received, then, using the top ten most rated shows, they went through each individual episode to see which had the highest (and lowest) ratings amongst viewers.
The research has revealed that Game of Thrones has the highest number of episodes with a score of 9.9 stars out of 10 (the highest in the study). George R. R. Martin’s masterpiece got a grand total of 4 near-perfect scores for the episodes ‘The Winds of Winter” (s6e10), “Battle of the Bastards” (s6e9), “Hardhome” (s5e9), and “The Rains of Castamere” (s3e9). The only other top-ten TV show to receive any 9.9 scores was Breaking Bad, where two episodes gained 9.9 stars out of 10, namely, “Felina” (s5 e16) and “Ozymandias” (s5e14).
So, which episodes were the most and least popular per top-rated TV show?
1. Game of Thrones (2011) 9.5
a. Best episode: s5e8 “Hardhome” – 9.9 stars
b. Worst episode: s5e6 “Unbowed, Unbent, Unbroken” – 8.1 stars
2. Breaking Bad (2008) 9.5
a. Best episode: s5e14 “Ozymandias” – 9.9 stars
b. Worst episode: s3e10 “Fly” – 7.6 stars
3. The Walking Dead (2010) 8.4
a. Best episode: s6e9 “No Way Out” – 9.6 stars
b. Worst episode: s7e6 “Swear” – 5.7 stars
4. Sherlock (2010) 9.2
a. Best episode: s2e3 “The Reichenbach Fall” – 9.7 stars
b. Worst episode: s4e1 “The Six Thatchers” – 7.7 stars
5. The Big Bang Theory (2007) 8.3
a. Best episode: s9e11 “The Opening Night Excitation”– 9.2 stars
b. Worst episode: s9e1 “The Matrimonial Momentum” – 6.8 stars
6. Friends (1994) 8.9
a. Best episode: s10e18 “The Last One Part 2” – 9.7 stars
b. Worst episode: s4e21 “The One with the Invitation” – 7.3 stars
7. Dexter (2006) 8.7
a. Best episode: s4e12 “The Getaway” – 9.8
b. Worst episode: s8e12 “Remember the Monsters?” – 4.8 stars
8. How I Met Your Mother (2005) 8.4
a. Best episode: s9e16 “How Your Mother Met Me” – 9.5 stars
b. Worst episode: s9e24 “Last Forever: Part Two”– 5.7 stars
9. Stranger Things (2016) 8.9
a. Best episode: s2e9 “Chapter Nine: The Gate”– 9.4 stars
b. Worst episode: s2e7 “Chapter Seven: The Lost Sister” – 6.2 stars
10. Lost (2004) 8.4
a. Best episode: s4e5 “Through the looking glass” – 9.7 stars
b. Worst episode: s3e9 “Stranger in a Strange Land” – 7.3 stars
When it came to the worst episodes of TV lovers’ favourite shows, Dexter proved to have the most unpopular episode with series 8 episode 12 “Remember the Monsters?” scoring a meagre 4.8 stars out of 10. How I Met your Mother (HIMYM) and The Walking Dead also both had episodes that barely got past the halfway mark, with episodes “Last Forever: Part Two” from HIMYM and “Swear” from The Walking Dead both scoring only 5.7 stars out of 10.
OnBuy.com delved deeper into the binging habits of Brits, and asked 1,687 TV-lovers how they watch their favourite series. It was discovered that the majority (47%) of viewers will watch an average of 3 episodes during a binging session, however 7% admitted to watching over 6 in one sitting! While we may all be on edge for spoilers, more people said they binged a show thanks to “good cliff-hangers” (39%) than to avoid spoilers (23%). A further 17% admitted their binging begins thanks to the next episode starting up automatically making them lose track of time. Interestingly, the study also revealed that TV addicts were more likely to listen to the recommendations of their streaming service (29%) than their friends! (26%)
How many episodes do you watch on an average binging session?
o 3 episodes – 47%
o 4 episodes – 31%
o 5 episodes – 15%
o 6+ episodes – 7%
Why are you likely to binge watch a TV show?
o Good cliff-hangers/want to know what happens – 39%
o Avoid spoilers – 23%
o Want to be able to discuss it with others – 21%
o The next one starts up automatically / lose track of time – 17%
Why do you start a TV show?
o Hype – 24%
o It was recommended by a friend – 26%
o It was recommended by my streaming service – 29%
o Saw it advertised – 9%
o Favourite actor is in it – 12%