‘Stranger Things’ Gives Netflix a Much-Needed Boost
Kristin Snyder is dot.LA's 2022/23 Editorial Fellow. She previously interned with Tiger Oak Media and led the arts section for UCLA's Daily Bruin.
“Stranger Things” just gave Netflix a sorely-needed win, drawing record viewership over the holiday weekend.
Based on Netflix’s internal metrics, viewers watched a combined 287 million hours of season 4, volume 1 of the coming-of-age sci-fi drama, which premiered on Friday. This marks the largest premiere weekend for an English-language TV show on the platform, surpassing “Bridgerton” season 2’s haul of 193 million hours, according to Variety.
Each episode’s lengthy runtime likely helped “Stranger Things” claim the top spot; the shortest episode of the new season is just over an hour long, while the longest is around one hour and forty minutes. The show’s three previous seasons also snuck back into Netflix’s top 10 last week, while its influence is being felt across other media platforms as well: Kate Bush’s 1985 song “Running Up That Hill” catapulted to the no. 1 spot on iTunes after its inclusion in season 4, while the fantasy tabletop game “Dungeons & Dragons,” which also features prominently, is having a moment.
That kind of impact comes at a cost: Netflix reportedly spent an average of $30 million on each episode of the new season of “Stranger Things.” Such spending may have to be curbed amid the streamer’s recent struggles, as evidenced by a poor first-quarter earnings report that saw the company lose subscribers for the first time in more than a decade. That subsequently sent Netflix's stock price tumbling and has triggered layoffs and cultural shifts inside the company.
Still, “Stranger Things” has given Netflix a huge boost at a difficult time, and it’s not over yet: Volume 2 of the fourth season, consisting of two feature film-length episodes, drops on July 1. In the company’s April earnings call, co-CEO Ted Sarandos said the season 4’s two-part release was intended to be “satisfying for the binger or the one-at-a-time viewer, as well.”
But no party lasts forever: When “Stranger Things” comes to a close after its fifth and final season, Netflix's strategy for filling the upside-down void left by one of its most beloved and marketable properties could involve a dubious mix of gaming, livestreaming, ad-supported programming and multiple transphobicstand-up comedy specials.
- Big Changes Coming to Netflix After Catastrophic Earnings ›
- Netflix To Crack Down on Password Sharing, Add Ad Tier - dot.LA ›
- Are the 'Stranger Things' Edit Rumors True? - dot.LA ›
- Wizards of the Coast Struggle With New Open Game License - dot.LA ›
- Wizards of the Coast Struggle With New Open Game License - dot.LA ›
- Wizards of the Coast Struggle With New Open Game License - dot.LA ›
- Wizards of the Coast Struggle With New Open Game License - dot.LA ›
Kristin Snyder is dot.LA's 2022/23 Editorial Fellow. She previously interned with Tiger Oak Media and led the arts section for UCLA's Daily Bruin.
