With its nostalgia-tapping blend of Steven Spielberg, Stephen King, John Carpenter, and pretty much every other movie trope from the 1980s, Netflix’s breakout summer hit Stranger Things is probably one of the most talked about TV shows of the year. But despite building off its cult audience to become a critical darling and mainstream hit, the show has yet to be renewed for a second season.
Reed Hastings, Netflix’s CEO, has yet to make the call on another run of episodes, but things are looking good for the Duffer Brothers (Matt and Ross). Hastings recently told The Guardian “We would be dumb not to” put in another order for the Winona Ryder-starring sci-fi drama.
Hastings said that Netflix executives pay attention to popular opinion when it comes to making a decision on greenlighting another season of a show, and that the user ratings on IMDb, which have seen the Stranger Things become the 22nd most well-reviewed show ever on the website, show there is a strong fan interest in it.
But the show’s creators also revealed that there was a serious lack of interest from other television networks in the show, with Matt Duffer telling Rolling Stone that Stranger Things was rejected more than 15 times before Netflix agreed to make it. The brothers, whose previous work includes the 2015 film Hidden, say that TV executives struggled with the concept of a show intended for adult audiences starring children. One network told the Duffers, “You either gotta make it into a kids show or make it about this Hopper [the local sheriff, played by David Harbour] character investigating paranormal activity around town.”
Netflix has proven itself to be willing to take risks in the past, exerting a greater level of creative freedom as it is not bound by the constraints imposed by advertising-funded networks. It’s likely that a second season announcement will be coming in the near future.
