SD enterprise: The Definitive Streaming Service Ranking

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The Definitive Streaming Service Ranking

My father can't stand streaming. He would still rather scroll through the annals of a cable TV guide and pop on a rerun of The Office than open an app on his TV. Sometimes, when I tell him about exceptional shows waiting for him on HBO Max and Apple TV+, he obliges—and he even enjoys a few! (Especially Adolescence.) But after watching Netflix's recent Tudum showcase detailing the streaming giant's slate for the next year, even my own optimism for the future of streaming reached a new low.

Tudum was a train wreck. The two-hour event, hosted by Sofia Carson (Carry On) and Jackie Tohn (Nobody Wants This), featured an astounding amount of overtly forced cross-promotion. Ben Affleck (The RIP) met Cookie Monster from Sesame Street, the WWE Raw stars played Squid Game's "Red Light, Green Light," and Vanessa Lachey (Love Is Blind) celebrated the streaming service's dwindling success stories with an awkward live kiss-cam.

I started thinking: Maybe… Netflix isn't the king of streaming anymore. So, in the spirit of checking the current pulse of the Streaming Wars, here's how I see the new power rankings for streaming services right now, from worst to best.

7. Amazon Prime Video

My number-one criteria for this ranking: If I'm paying a monthly fee for a streaming service ,is there at least one new show per month that's worth my time? For Prime Video, quality TV simply doesn't drop often enough. The streaming service is content to serve as a one-stop shop where you can access all the other subscriptions you pair for in-app—in the spirit of Amazon itself. At the end of the day, Reacher, Fallout, and The Boys are more like perks for paying for free shipping on Amazon.

6. Peacock

For reality TV fans, Peacock is something they'd probably pay $100 a month for. For now, it's the only place to stream Bravo's entire fleet: Real Housewives, Love Island USA, Below Deck, Top Chef, Watch What Happens Live, and more. As the home of NBC's library, Peacock also holds The Office, Parks & Recreation, New Girl, Scrubs, Law & Order, and more. Hell, due to a bizarre streaming deal, it's also the only place you can stream Yellowstone. A vault of classic sitcoms and reality TV is certainly appealing to some audiences. Plus, minting itself as the streaming home of the Olympics was a nice addition—but the sporting event, of course, only comes around every four years.

5. Disney/Hulu/ESPN

I've paid for the Disney/Hulu/ESPN bundle for so long, that this is just one big streaming service in my mind. It seems that Disney agrees, because the entertainment company spent the last year adding Hulu and ESPN tiles to the Disney+ home screen so that paid subscribers could access all three from just one place. Honestly, it's the only thing keeping all three alive. Each service has its own benefit. Disney is the home of Marvel, Star Wars, and a treasure trove of children's content. Hulu has FX programming like The Bear and Shogun, alongside ABC's network slate—including Abbott Elementary. Plus, ESPN is still the go-to destination for live sports (even though its competitors are making hostile inroads to attack the live sports market). Still, all three platforms are only this high because they're stronger together.

4. Netflix

Netflix enters the race with a longer relationship with its subscribers than a lot of its peers. I imagine that most people scroll through the Netflix home screen for something new to watch much like they did when cable TV ruled their nights. But when I look at Netflix's slate, I worry that audiences are settling for a lesser product simply because it's so comfortably accessible to them. Whatever scale that previously balanced out hits and misses from the streaming giant finally tipped over with misses. Plus, after Squid Game and Stranger Things end later this year, the network will carry on without two of its largest subscription drivers in its history.

3. Paramount+

As the home of Taylor Sheridan's TV empire, Paramount+ already has a massive fanbase working in its favor. The writer/creator currently helms Yellowstone, Landman, Tulsa King, Mayor of Kingstown, Lioness, and 1923. The streaming service also released several quality series recently, thanks to its merger with Showtime, such as MobLand, Yellowjackets, and The Agency. The one question holding Paramount back is whether it will deliver on Sheridan's upcoming universe of spin-offs. Though there's plenty of good, fresh TV available on Paramount+, the network hasn't exactly excelled at making the subscription feel like an essential monthly subscription just yet.

2. Apple TV+

Before Apple TV+'s recent string of successes, I would have advised readers to subscribe when a show they liked returned (such as Severance season 2)—then cancel Apple TV+ until another show arrived that piqued your interest again. In 2025, feel free to officially let that subscription roll over. After Severance, Apple TV+ released The Studio with Seth Rogen, Your Friends and Neighbors with Jon Hamm, and now Stick with Owen Wilson. All that money from selling overpriced laptops and smartphones is finally going to good use with A-list talent. If Apple TV+ can keep this streak up, the streamer will remain in good competition with the number-one entry on this list…

1. HBO Max

If the criteria for this power ranking rested solely on whether I received at least one TV show a month that felt worthy of my subscription fee, then no one was better primed to sit on top of the list than HBO. The network has made this exact goal—quality TV that's worth your time—its business model since its launch over 50 years ago, and it still holds true today. In the first half of 2025 alone, viewers have already watched The Pitt, The White Lotus, The Last of Us, The Rehearsal, and now Hacks. Plus, HBO's entire library features some of the greatest shows (and movies) ever made. (I'm on my fourth rewatch of Goodfellas.) If quantity drives Netflix subscriptions, HBO Max thrives on quality.

Cole Hauser and Kelly Reilly in Yellowstone / Paramount

Mail Bag!

Last week, a Cliff-Hanger subscriber sent me an email with a very good question: Why do award shows ignore Taylor Sheridan? His work is certainly popular—and we cover just about every Sheridan-created series on Esquire.com. But as this reader asked, "Is Hollywood jealous of Taylor Sheridan or just really into zombies and corporate fantasies?"

For starters, I believe that yes, Hollywood is certainly in a zombie and corporate fantasy phase right now. We live in apocalyptic times, so shows about crumbling empires and surviving global nightmares hit close to home a bit more than a western drama.

Still, there's no reason why popular shows such as Landman, 1923, and Lioness shouldn't compete with "Prestige TV" like The Last of Us and Hacks right now. Sheridan has made some progress at awards shows lately: Kevin Costner (Yellowstone) won the Golden Globe in 2023, and Billy Bob Thornton (Landman) was nominated for a Golden Globe last year.

And yet, I imagine that there's an audience of voters who don't take too kindly to the way Sheridan has spoken about Hollywood throughout his career so far. The TV creator has a not-so-secret history of sticking it to the industry after rejecting his ideas for so long.

"Hollywood will tell you what you're supposed to do if you listen," he told The Hollywood Reporter in 2023. "If you're banging your head against the wall for 20 years trying to be an actor, maybe you shouldn't be an actor. But the first thing I ever wrote [the pilot for Mayor of Kingstown in 2011] got me meetings at every major network, at every agency. I had multiple people trying to buy it."

Similarly, he recalls an executive at HBO telling him that Yellowstone "just feels so Middle America. We're HBO, we're avant-garde, we're trendsetters. This feels like a step backward. And frankly, I've got to be honest, I don't think anyone should be living out there [in rural Montana]."

Later, when Sheridan sold Yellowstone to Paramount, it became a massive success. Now, it seems like he holds a grudge against anyone who tells him what to do.

"I spent the first 37 years of my life compromising," Sheridan stated at the time. "When I quit acting, I decided that I am going to tell my stories my way, period. If you don't want me to tell them, fine. Give them back and I'll find someone who does — or I won't, and then I'll read them in some freaking dinner theater. But I won't compromise. There is no compromising."

So, you could say his attitude is most likely hurting his chances to woo over awards show voters. At the same time, Sheridan certainly isn't losing when it comes to viewership. He's proving his doubters wrong with every new show.

Want me to answer your question in the next Cliff-Hanger? Ask me anything at josh.rosenberg@hearst.com, and I'll respond right here next week.

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Keanu Reeves in Ballerina: From the World of John Wick / Lionsgate

The Cliff-Hanger's Winners and Losers of the Week

Surprise! This week, it's all losers.

Loser: The John Wick Franchise

Ballerina, starring Ana de Armas, is the first spin-off film of the John Wick franchise. According to Eric Francisco, the film turns a mythical figure into an action toy. In his review, he stated that Ballerina "exists in the shadow of its older sibling and just barely upholds the crushing weight of expectations."

Loser: Entertainment Journalists

Netflix announced that Stranger Things season 5 will roll out in three parts. Guess when? Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years. I guess I'll watch Vecna tear up those poor kiddos with a glass of champagne in hand. (Sigh.)

Loser: Every Alien Director Not Named Ridley Scott or James Cameron

On Thursday, Alien director Ridley Scott threw shade on David Fincher (Alien 3), Jean-Pierre Jeunet (Alien Resurrection), and Fede Álvarez (Alien: Romulus). "I think mine was pretty damn good, and I think Jim's was good, and I have to say the rest were not very good," he told Variety. "I thought, 'F*ck, that's the end of a franchise.'" I agree with him re: Alien 3 and Alien Resurrection, but I loved Álvarez's take on the xenomorphs in Alien: Romulus.

Loser: Benson Boone

The "Beautiful Things" singer backflipped off Jimmy Fallon's desk this week. The artist's signature move has turned from an impressive feat into a cheap gimmick. Plus, his new song, with lyrics like,"Moonbeam ice cream, taking off your blue jeans," isn't exactly winning any Pulitzer Prizes.

Loser: The Schwarzenegger Family

Arnold Schwarzenegger talked to Variety this week about his son, Patrick, and his buzzy role in The White Lotus. Wouldn't you know, he was taken aback by his son's full-frontal scene in the premiere. I'll leave you this week with a new all-time quote from Arnie: "All of a sudden, I see the weenie."