‘Stranger Things’ have has happened! Netflix new 80s-set thriller series has come out of nowhere to become one of the hottest shows on the streaming service– more popular than hits like ‘Daredevil’, ‘Jessica Jones’ and ‘House of Cards’. Netflix reports that over 8.2 million viewers flocked to ‘Stranger Things’ in its first 16 days. It ranks just behind ‘Fuller House’ and the newest season of ‘Orange Is The New Black’ in their first 16 days.
Created and directed by Matt and Ross Duffer, the show is inspired by thrillers from the 80s, the show is heavily influenced (unashamedly) by the works of Steven Spielberg, Stephen King, George Lucas, John Carpenter and David Lynch among others. ‘Stranger Things’ stars 80s icons Winona Ryder and Matthew Modine, as well as David Harbour, Finn Wolfhard, Millie Bobby Brown, Gaten Matarazzo, Caleb McLaughlin, Natalia Dyer, Charlie Heaton, and Cara Buono.
At the Television Critics Association press tour, Matt Duffer expressed:
“We’re fans of so many of these filmmakers, particularly in the ’80s. They’re big influences on us, and their work is kind of a part of us and part of our DNA now.”
King himself tweeted a message of support:
Watching STRANGER THINGS is looking watching Steve King’s Greatest Hits. I mean that in a good way.
— Stephen King (@StephenKing) July 17, 2016
Fans are already uniting as a fandom, calling themselves “The Strangers” and have begun analyzing the show in depth online. Some have even already shown up in cosplay at events like SDCC last month.
Set in Hawkins Indiana in the 1980’s, Stranger Things chronicles the search for a young boy who vanishes into thin air under highly suspicious circumstances. His mother (Winona Ryder) opens an investigation into the boy’s disappearance with local authorities that unravels a series of mysteries involving top-secret government experiments, terrifying supernatural forces and one very strange little girl. A love letter to the ubiquitous cult classics of the 80’s,Stranger Things is a coming of age story for three boys that draws this quaint community into a world where mysteries lurk beneath the surface.
In a separate interview, Matt Duffer teased Season Two:
“One reason we fell in love with television is we’ve seen so many movies and they tend to follow a very similar pattern. Television has been breaking narrative rules. George R.R. Martin obviously pushed that to another level [with “Game of Thrones”], you suddenly don’t feel safe and it freaks you out. Every scene has a little more tension in it.
It’s something we want to preserve as we go into season two, where you feel everyone including the kids is unsafe and anything can happen. We pushed it this season… but I want to continue to amp up that threat. It makes it scarier, but it’s also sad.”
‘Stranger Things’ is available in its entirety on Netflix now.
Are you a ‘Stranger’, yet?
Sources: Just Jared, CNN, Variety
