🎬 Russian TV Content Outpaces Digital Premieres

Hawkins Sets an Absolute Record

The primary highlight of the quarter was the release of the final season of Stranger Things. The series didn’t just top the charts; it demonstrated a phenomenal lead, scoring 15,948 points. This single project accounted for 10.7% of the total weight of the quarterly Top 100.

January was particularly telling: the finale of the Netflix saga accumulated a quarter (25.4%) of all points among the month’s top thirty. This marked the only instance in the quarter where foreign content outperformed Russian productions in terms of the total index.

Linear TV Strikes Back

Despite the explosive start of the Western hit, Russian projects maintained their leadership by the end of the quarter. Domestic productions made up 63 of the Top 100 projects, securing 57.2% of the aggregate index.

A key trend is the renaissance of linear television. More than 80% of the total weight of Russian series came from projects with a broadcast TV presence. By March, the expansion of “broadcast-first” content reached its peak: the month’s Top 30 featured zero Russian digital exclusives—every popular domestic project was also aired on traditional TV.

Top 5 Series of Q1 2026:

1. Stranger Things (Foreign) – 15,948 points
2. Lily of the Valley (Russia) – 8,829 points
3. The First Department (Russia) – 7,745 points
4. Jujutsu Kaisen (Anime) – 6,419 points
5. Sled / The Trace (Russia) – 3,563 points

Anime at the Vanguard

March brought a sensation in the animation segment. For the first time in the rating’s history, an anime topped the “Top Project of the Month” category—Jujutsu Kaisen secured the number-one spot, outperforming live-action series. Overall, the Top 100 content structure consists of live-action series (90.7%), anime (7.3%), and animated series (2%).

Experts also noted a gradual “rejuvenation” of the charts. While new releases made up only a fifth of the list in January, by March, premiere projects from 2025–2026 occupied nearly a third of the top rankings. The market successfully opened the season with newcomers like Prince Andrey (1,607 points) and New Earth (1,341 points), both entering the March Top 5.

Quarterly Summary

At the start of 2026, the series market demonstrates high viewer loyalty toward established franchises (69.5% of the index belongs to projects that debuted before 2025). However, the success of anime and the resilience of Russian procedural and drama hits on linear TV show that audiences are eager for genre diversity, provided the content is high-quality and easily accessible.