Credit: NetflixStranger Things has broken barriers for Netflix, making the streaming service reach millions of other viewers and cracking records that the service has never seen before. The Duffer Brothers show, which was once rejected by many for its unique plot, now sits as one of the top shows on Netflix, with a massive fandom, spin-off series in the works, and a prequel play currently on the West End.
While the show has been iconic since 2016, its fame and ability to change the entertainment industry through a child-led cast with dark undertones was not enough to get the show placed at the top of Variety’s top 100 shows of all times list, in fact, Stranger Things placed 83rd, with many others replacing the Netflix series.
Set in the 1980s, the series unfolds in the fictional town of Hawkins, Indiana, where residents grapple with the ominous alternate dimension known as the Upside Down. This dark dimension becomes a threat when a nearby human experimentation facility inadvertently opens a portal connecting it to the real world.
In February 2022, Netflix announced the renewal of Stranger Things for a fifth and final season. Anticipation for the upcoming season is high, but the show had to temporarily halt production due to the recently concluded SAG-AFTRA strike. Nevertheless, Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos confirmed that Stranger Things, along with another show named Wednesday, will receive priority.
Featuring a large cast, the show introduces both emerging Hollywood talents who started as kids and seasoned, iconic actors including Winona Ryder, David Harbour, Finn Wolfhard, Millie Bobby Brown, Gaten Matarazzo, Caleb McLaughlin, Natalia Dyer, Charlie Heaton, Cara Buono, Matthew Modine, Noah Schnapp, Sadie Sink, Joe Keery, Dacre Montgomery, Sean Astin, Paul Reiser, Maya Hawke, Priah Ferguson, and Brett Gelman.
At the heart of the storyline is the disappearance of a young boy, Will Byers, and the introduction of a girl named Eleven with psychokinetic abilities. The show swiftly gained cultural significance, praised for its nostalgic nods to 80s pop culture, compelling characters, and suspenseful storytelling.
Each season has left audiences begging for more, and if you weren’t on the edge of your seat during the season 4 finale, you certainly missed out.
As we stated, Stranger Things has broken barriers for Netflix.
CNN reported, “Netflix said that “Stranger Things 4 — Volume 1” clocked in at 286.7 million hours viewed. That surpassed the second season of “Bridgerton,” which brought in 193 million hours viewed in March.
Netflix (NFLX) added that the debut was the first season to reach No. 1 in 83 countries, setting another record. “Stranger Things 4” also reached the top 10 in all 93 countries that the company tracks.”
This was excellent news for Netflix, who has been having a rough year. The company reported in April of 2022 that it lost subscribers for the first time in more than a decade. The news shocked Wall Street and sent shares plummeting. It also caused investors to doubt the future of Netflix as well as the entire streaming marketplace.
As noted by Wikipedia, “The series has received critical acclaim and numerous accolades for its writing, acting, directing, production values, visual effects, and soundtrack. Stranger Things has been nominated for many awards, including 57 Primetime Emmy Awards (12 wins), four Golden Globe Awards, four Grammy Awards, four Critics’ Choice Television Awards (one win), 13 Saturn Awards (four wins), two Producers Guild of America Awards (one win), three Writers Guild of America Awards, and two Peabody Awards (one win). It was also selected by the American Film Institute as one of its top 10 television programs of the year for the series’ first two seasons.”
Additionally, the main cast has been nominated for three Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series nominations, winning in 2017. Millie Bobby Brown is the most nominated member of the cast.
Brown, David Harbour, and Winona Ryder have received individual Screen Actors Guild Award nominations for their performances in the series. Brown and Harbour also received two Primetime Emmy Award nominations, while Harbour and Ryder were each nominated for a Golden Globe Award.
Knowing this, one may have assumed that after seven years of incredible success, that the show would rank well on the top 100 list, which is a privldige to even be on in the first place, however, as we mentioned, it came in 83rd.
Variety had this to say about the show:
“Beloved by fans from the start, the Steven Spielberg-inspired supernatural drama has grown up with its audience over the years: The bike-riding gang of kids from the fictional small town of Hawkins, Ind., will have matured into young adults by the time “Stranger Things” ends with its fifth season. Not only have creators Matt and Ross Duffer — aka the Duffer brothers — repurposed 1980s tropes of friends going on adventures who end up saving the world, but they’ve created a next generation of stars (Millie Bobby Brown, Joe Keery, Maya Hawke and Noah Schnapp, among others) with the series’ superior casting (as well as reviving the career of Winona Ryder, herself an ’80s icon). Outside of the show’s creative strengths, though, “Stranger Things” has — more than any of Netflix’s other series — demonstrably proven the streamer’s fearsome power, with each season of the show outpacing the one before, to reach a massive global audience.”
So, who beat out Stranger Things?
While there are 82 other shows that overtook the Netflix sensation, we will look at the top 10, and some honorable mentions.
Below are the top 10 shows of all time.
- I love Lucy
- Mad Men
- The Sopranos
- The Simpsons
- Breaking Bad
- Sex and the City
- The Wire
- Seinfeld
- The Mary Tyler Moore Show
- Roots
Other notable mentions include Game of Thrones (21), Friends (29) Lost (32), Jeopardy! (33) The Office (39), BoJack Horseman (another Netflix contender at 55), Orange is the New Black (61) and Grey’s Anatomy (68).
Netflix will begin filming season 5 of Stranger Things this January.
Do you agree with Variety’s top 100 list?