Paramount's Canceled Sci-Fi Series Blows Up Netflix's Top Charts

If a premium "Halo" series had debuted at a time when hordes of teenagers were dual wielding Needlers on Xboxes around the world, it might have been a mega-hit. When such a show did arrive on Paramount+ in 2022, however, the reaction wasn't quite as big as it could have been. Now, the sci-fi series is enjoying a reprieve courtesy of Netflix, with viewers sending the show into the top 10 streaming charts just one day after it hit the platform.

After enduring development hell for some time, "Halo" finally entered production in 2019, only for post-production to be scuppered by the COVID-19 pandemic. The first season finally debuted in March 2022, with nine episodes hitting Paramount+ before a second season arrived in February 2024. Unfortunately, Paramount canceled "Halo" in July of that year.

While the reviews were actually pretty good, it still seemed like somewhat of an anticlimax for a series based on what has surely become an iconic video game franchise. Despite the show faring well enough (it set a viewership record for Paramount+ when it first arrived), it felt as though "Halo" as a property deserved more, especially after it was axed. Of course, it didn't help that Paramount+ was and remains a relatively small streamer in terms of its subscriber numbers, and with the show sitting in development hell for years, it wasn't as if it debuted at the height of "Halo" hype. Thankfully, Netflix is doing what it can to give "Halo" a second life.

"Halo" hit Netflix on October 1, 2025, and much like this year's heist thriller "Jewel Thief," the series managed to crack the streamer's top 10 TV shows chart the day after it arrived. Specifically, "Halo" entered the charts in the United States on October 2, 2025, hitting number four (where it remains at the time of writing). Will Master Chief dual make his way to the top of the charts? Only time will tell. But he'll have to contend with "Hereditary" star Toni Collette's new show "Wayward," which has possessed Netflixers and is currently sitting at the top of the charts.

"Halo" takes place in its own canon separate from other "Halo" titles (including the video games and comic books), yet it remains loyal to the lore of the franchise, following the war between the United Nations Space Command and the alien coalition known as the Covenant. Set in the 26th-century, it stars Pablo Schreiber as Master Chief Petty Officer John-117 and Jen Taylor as Cortana, with the latter reprising the role after having voiced the character in the video games. And though all of this sounds like a hit on paper, it's not a little closer to actually being one thanks to Netflix.

Netflix, after all, won the streaming wars log ago and now has 301 million subscribers, as opposed to Paramount+'s comparatively minor 77 million. That means Netflix has roughly four times as many paying customers as Paramount's platform, which would typically just serve as another reminder of how much most of these companies are losing in revenue. (Apple TV+, for instance, is losing a ridiculous amount of money.) Here, though, Paramount is actually benefitting from Netflix's gargantuan subscriber base sending "Halo" into the most-watched charts stateside, giving it the audience it perhaps always deserved.