Heartland Becomes 5th-Most Streamed Show of 2021 in the US

Those who know and love Heartland, know the warm feelings each episode of this family drama evokes.

Heartland is undoubtedly one of the best family drama series out there. And it’s also one that viewers can easily enjoy with their whole families without worrying about things like violence, nudity, and other aspects that many modern TV shows are oversaturated with.

And it seems that viewers all over the US are taking notice, too, because according to Nielsen, Heartland was the 5th most-streamed TV show in the U.S. in 2021 among acquired streaming programs.

What’s more, if we look at the total number of minutes US viewers spent watching Heartland in 2021, the numbers are even more impressive.

In 2021, people spent over 29 billion minutes (29.529 billion minutes to be exact) watching Heartland.

In contrast, Lucifer, which ranked as the number one most-watched streaming original series, was only viewed 18.342 billion minutes, Netflix original Squid Game took 16.432 billion minutes, and Great British Baking Show – 13.636 billion minutes viewed.

Meaning, that when it comes to minutes viewed, in 2021 Heartland was the 5th most-watched TV show on streaming platforms in the United States.

The four shows that ranked above Heartland were FBI drama Criminal Minds, kids series Cocomelon, medical drama Grey’s Anatomy, and the famed police procedural NCIS with 33.865 billion, 33.278 billion, 32.625 billion, and 29.529 billion minutes streamed respectively.

What does this mean for Heartland?

While Heartland has long been a beloved series in its home country of Canada, becoming the longest-running one-hour drama in Canadian television history in 2014, the show has become popular in other countries only fairly recently.

But with the show now streaming on Netflix in many regions including the US (although only seasons 1 through 13 are available on Netflix there), it has allowed Heartland to quickly gain popularity in the US as well as in other parts of the world.

And these Nielsen numbers only prove how beloved of a TV series Heartland has become in the states.

Additionally, these numbers might also work in the show’s favor when it comes to getting renewed for season 16.

Heartland concluded its 15th season on CBC in early December. And ever since then fans of the series have been patiently waiting for news regarding the show’s future.

So, although a season 16 renewal is not certain, this news of Heartland being the 5th most-streamed TV show in the US last year definitely could go a long way towards CBC renewing the show for another season. After all, the more people watch the show, the more likely it is that CBC will want to keep the show on air.

What is Heartland?

And if you’ve landed on this article by accident and don’t know what Heartland is, then let me introduce you to one of the best family series out there and a personal favorite of mine.

Heartland is set in Alberta and follows a multi-generational family that runs a horse and cattle ranch in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains.

At the forefront of the series is Amy Fleming, a gifted horse trainer who has an incredible connection with horses. After the passing of her mother, Amy picks up right where her mother left off, healing horses and helping their owners in the process.

Over the course of the 15 seasons of Heartland that have been currently released, we see Amy learning to juggle horse clinics and high school and eventually graduate and start working with horses full time.

On top of that, we see her grandfather Jack Bartlett settling into his role as the father figure for Amy and her sister Lou, who returns from New York to help run the family business. The sisters also reconnect with their estranged father Tim. As well as fall in love and eventually form their own families, expanding the family unit that is the Bartlett-Fleming clan.