You know what the most popular show on streaming was in Nielsen’s most recent ratings? The Big Bang Theory. That’s right. More than seven years after it ended, fans spent more than 1.1 billion minutes consuming Big Bang Theory content in a single week. If you’re keeping score at home, that was more than 200 million more minutes than any other current or former television show.The Big Bang Theory has put up 1 billion plus weeks before. In fact, the two ratings periods prior to this win both had more than a billion minutes viewed, but July 27th to August 2nd, which is the most recent ratings period, was the first time the show ever topped the overall streaming charts, which is especially impressive for a thirty minute sitcom.It’s also pretty impressive for a show with a complicated legacy to put it nicely. The Big Bang Theory was the most popular show on television at its peak and had its share of success at the Emmys, picking up four nominations for Best Comedy and four Lead Actor wins for Jim Parsons. From that angle, it shouldn’t exactly be a surprise that it’s still breaking records, but you could also argue that, from another angle, The Big Bang Theory is perhaps the most hated on show in the last few decades, at least amongst the most successful ones.Perhaps because it was shot in front of a live audience at a point when most other shows had stopped doing that. Perhaps because it was written with a style of rapid fire jokes also reminiscent of a bygone era. Perhaps because it was mostly about nerds. Perhaps for many reasons, The Big Bang Theory has been a punching bag for a segment of the population. To this day, things are said in polite company (and even to the actors) about the show that no one would ever say about the other top shows of its era. It’s almost like there’s this assumption that anyone who really cares about prestige television couldn’t possibly watch The Big Bang Theory.I’m not going to sit here and say I’m the biggest Big Bang Theory fan in the world. I’ve seen a hundred or so scattered episodes, and I’ve enjoyed it well enough. I’ve also been reflexively defensive because some of the criticisms are so over the top and outrageous, but there’s always been at least a part of myself that has understood the negativity.But at what point are we just going to admit that The Big Bang Theory clearly works for its intended audience? Very few shows over the last few decades have attracted more eyeballs and made more money than The Big Bang Theory, and yet, networks have been unable to replicate the formula. The mix of ingredients just works perfectly to execute the exact vision it’s trying to execute, and that’s obviously a sign that it’s spectacular at what it’s trying to do.I’m not saying you need to go out and binge The Big Bang Theory if you don’t want to. I’m just saying maybe this is a moment where we should all collectively reassess the show and say it’s clearly a banger, even if it’s not for me.The Big Bang Theory has consistently been watched in massive numbers since it hit streaming, but numbers in recent weeks have been especially robust because of the premiere of the spinoff show Stuart Fails To Save The Universe. To the surprise of no one, the spinoff has been landing with its intended audience, and there’s a lot of hope it could wind up having a long and successful run too, as it’s already been renewed. You can watch it and increase those Big Bang Theory streaming numbers on HBO Max.