“Stranger Things” returns this week to Netflix and finds itself in a very different position than it was in summer 2016, when it was released to relatively little fanfare to become one of the year’s biggest TV success stories. Can it possibly live up to fans’ heightened expectations, or will it have trouble evading the pitfalls that other buzzy shows have recently encountered?
The nine-episode second run of sci-fi phenomenon “Stranger Things,” which brings back Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown) and the gang, heads into its Oct. 27 launch with a seemingly unprecedented level of excitement and hype. Case in point: “Mindhunters” and other Netflix shows certainly didn’t get a countdown clock on the streaming service’s homepage that ticks down to their release, as “Stranger Things” Season 2 currently has.
Netflix certainly has a lot riding on the new season. “Stranger Things” was its biggest awards play of the past year, landing 18 Emmy nominations ahead of last month’s ceremony (although the show went home empty-handed in all major categories). And it can be argued that none of the company’s shows of the past 12 months was more talked-about, with perhaps the exception of controversy-courting “13 Reasons Why.”
Jason Mittell, professor of film and media culture at Middlebury College and author of “Complex TV,” told TheWrap that rather than sputter, “Stranger Things” is likely to follow the path of previous Netflix shows that increased their viewer awareness long after the first season’s release as word spread and subscribers got caught up with earlier episodes.
“Programs that release seasons in ‘full-drop’ mode, like on Netflix, definitely follow a different cycle of buzz than weekly series do,” he told TheWrap. He cited “House of Cards,” “Orange Is the New Black” and “Narcos” as previous Netflix offerings that appear to have had a bump in attention in their second and third seasons.
Not every hit show is so lucky. A few recent breakouts have been plagued by the dreaded sophomore slump, including USA’s “Mr. Robot,” which was perceived as having declined in quality in Season 2 after its widely praised first run that earned Emmy nominations for best drama and best actor. (It wasn’t nominated for either after Season 2.)
Mittell doesn’t see “Stranger Things” at risk of experiencing this — at least, not yet.
“A sophomore series on a more traditional release, like ‘Mr. Robot’ or ‘UnREAL,’ can become more of a victim to perceived declines in quality — both of their second seasons got mediocre reviews, leading to dwindling attention in the press and social media,” he said. “But such drops in quality tend not to be felt over the course of a full-drop series, as everyone is viewing episodes on their own schedules.”
Indeed, perhaps shows like “Mr. Robot” or “UnREAL,” while both at one point critically adored, never quite touched the zeitgeist the way that “Stranger Things” did, making them more susceptible to losing fans with a false step.
“I think you have to distinguish between a hot, edgy niche show — ‘Mr. Robot’ — and a genuine phenomenon like ‘Game of Thrones’ and ‘Stranger Things,'” said Neil Landau, author of “TV Outside the Box” and head of UCLA’s Writing for Television program. “The second season of ‘Stranger Things’ will eclipse and build from Season 1 — I guarantee it.”
Although he doesn’t see the momentum fading this quickly, he does think it’s a good idea that series co-creators Ross and Matt Duffer plan to end the show after only a few more seasons.
“The kids will inevitably age up, and the series might lose its charm and innocence,” Landau said. “It will surely peak well before [Season 5 or 6].”
Saul Austerlitz, pop culture writer and author of the book “Sitcom,” says viewers tend to find Netflix projects more gradually. The reason? Because streaming shows don’t present quite the same compulsion toward immediate viewing as a linear show, given people’s need to make space on their DVRs.
“I think one of the oddities of the contemporary TV landscape, which simultaneously adds to its richness, is that everyone is experiencing a slightly different version of TV, with streaming a major part of it,” Austerlitz said. “I don’t think Netflix shows get forgotten so much as find their way into the cultural bloodstream irregularly.”
Mittell believes that if fans do respond negatively to the new “Stranger Things” episodes, the lack of interest would come in Season 3, not 2. Of course, given that Season 2 currently has a 92 freshness rating on Rotten Tomatoes, a critical backlash seems unlikely.
“A good test case might be ‘Arrested Development,’ as its fourth season debuting on Netflix was seen by many as a disappointment — I wouldn’t be surprised if a lot of fans will be wary of the next season unless critics assure them it’s a return to form,” Mittell said.
“Stranger Things” returns to Netflix with Season 2 on Oct. 27.
11 'Stranger Things' Fan Theories About Season 2
Season 1 of Netflix's "Stranger Things" left fans with a lot of questions. Now that information is finally trickling out for Season 2, fans are formulating all-new theories to make guesses about everything from what the Upside Down is to who Nancy Wheeler will end up dating. Here are nine of the most interesting.
1. Eleven is alive, but she's in serious trouble The Super Bowl 51 trailer confirmed what everyone suspected: Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown) survived her encounter with the Demogorgon creature in Season 1, and she'll be coming back in Season 2. Show creators Matt and Ross Duffer said we'll see more of Elle's background and origins. It seems very likely that finding and saving Eleven will be another element that looms large in Season 2.
2. Eleven is inextricably tied to the Upside Down She said it herself in an early episode -- that she's the monster. We discover more toward the end of Season 1 during a flashback, when Elle touches the faceless creature for the first time through a sensory tank at a government lab. It's that contact with the Demogorgon that has fans thinking that's when she was infiltrated by its darkness. The idea that there's more to her relationship with the monsters is gaining some traction in Season 2.
3. The Thessalhydra from 'D&D' is Season 2's monster Fans paid very close attention to the final "Dungeons & Dragons" game of Season 1, in which Will defeated a creature called the "Thessalhydra." Like the hydra of Greek myth, the Thessalhydra has several heads. The giant creature shown in the Super Bowl teaser looks an awful lot like it could be a multi-headed hydra monster.
4. Nancy Wheeler may ultimately wind up with Jonathan Byers Sure, the show ends with Nancy (Natalia Dyer) in Steve Harrington's arms, but one observant fan noted her distant stare. Just seconds prior, she had given Jonathan (Charlie Heaton) a still camera to replace the one that Steve (Joe Keery) broke in an earlier episode. Jonathan and Nancy were the ones to team up against the monster and Steve only barged in on their plot unwittingly at the last minute. The two have a strong connection.
5. Barb's disappearance will be a major problem The small amount of information trickling out about Season 2 has confirmed one thing: Barb's dead. Bummer. The Duffer Brothers said Barb will get justice in Season 2. But Barb's disappearance sounds like it looms large over Hawkins. It also sounds like Sheriff Hopper (David Harbour) has been covering up the circumstances of Barb's death and Will's disappearance to protect the Byers family.
6. Will Byers is part monster now We see Will cough up one of those slimy things from the Upside Down world in which he resided for nearly the entire season. Then the bathroom in which he's standing flickers, bringing the world's creepy darkness into view momentarily. If the above fan theory No. 2 is true, it stands to reason that since Will was in contact with the faceless monster, that he too has a touch of its evil inside of him. Clips from the teaser suggest to fans that Will has some connection with the giant Season 2 monster shown there.
7. Hopper works for the government now He's spotted stepping into a car with a couple of the bad guys from the lab. Earlier on Hopper cut a deal with them to keep their nefarious secrets under wraps in exchange for Will. Some fans think he's infiltrating the organization in attempts of taking it down while others think he's rejoining the team after a long absence as a federal agent. The Duffers have suggested Hopper is helping cover up the events of Season 1, and that seems to add more credence to this theory.
8. The Upside Down is Hawkins' future Fans are still trying to figure out what the Upside Down actually is. One suggestion: it's not another dimensions, its Hawkins' future. The supposition is that, somehow, Eleven tore a hole in the space-time continuum, allowing bits of a potential future to flow into Hawkins to create a time loop. The future she's seeing? It's Hawkins after the site has been nuked by the U.S. government to stop the giant mutant creature from the teaser, and the Upside Down.
9. The Upside Down isn't an evil dimension, it was attacked An even better theory to explain the Upside Down is that it's an alternate dimension, but not a necessarily malignant one. The Upside Down looks like Hawkins because it's just an alternate version of the town where people live. The gross tentacles, the creatures, the slugs, and the toxic atmosphere are symptoms of an invasion from a third dimension. This invader destroys life. Eleven attracted the invasion, but it's still in the early stages of taking over Earth -- until Season 2.
10. Hopper's daughter is actually Eleven This theory takes a little heavy lifting to get to, but YouTuber Planet Calvin lays out a fairly compelling case for it. It centers hints in Season 1 that maybe Hopper's memory of his daughter Sarah's death from cancer isn't really what happened, but a lie he tells himself. The timeline of what happened to Hopper's daughter also matches fairly well with the timeline of what happens to Terry Ives, Eleven's mother, if you look for some clues. Planet Calvin does a good job of breaking it down in two complementary theory videos you can watch here. At the very least, Planet Calvin has probably picked up on some minor details that might actually be pretty significant in the future.
11. The only one who can stop Monster Will is Eleven This one just makes some thematic sense from a narrative standpoint, but it stands to reason that if Will has been taken in by the monster-ness of the Upside Down, Eleven is the only person equipped to deal with it. A showdown is one way it could go; another is the pair of them trying to figure out how to deal with their dark, conflicted natures together.
Explore guesses around the demogorgan’s fate, those mystery Eggos and Nancy Wheeler’s true love
Season 1 of Netflix's "Stranger Things" left fans with a lot of questions. Now that information is finally trickling out for Season 2, fans are formulating all-new theories to make guesses about everything from what the Upside Down is to who Nancy Wheeler will end up dating. Here are nine of the most interesting.
