Who’s excited for the return of Stranger Things? Well… Not so fast. It’s not going to be available on Netflix until October 27. Which isn’t that far away, but you still have some time to wait. Full disclosure, I haven’t watched the show. This might sound ridiculous, but bear with me. I have had a lot on the go over the last year and I just didn’t feel like I had time. Especially to get into a new show. I also find that if I get into something, and I really like it, I can’t go without it. I need the second season to start the day after I finish the first. Or I’ll lose interest.
Why am I writing about it, you ask? Well, I think that we should assess whether or not they will give us an amazing second season. Again, not having seen the first, I am basing this mostly on how other Netflix shows have fared. For example – Orange is the New Black. They had a really great first and second season, but it’s petered out a bit since season three. Even this season, while good, went from an us vs. them type of scenario, to everyone coming together for the greater good. Which is appealing in some ways, but I’m not sure that it works for them. Which makes me wonder if Netflix can continue to produce such high quality shows. And maintain that standard for multiple seasons.
The same thing kind of happened with House of Cards. This past season was great. Again, don’t get me wrong. But [spoiler alert] I didn’t like how it switched from being about Frank to being about Claire. I’m not sure I can get on board with that direction in the show. Also note, I will watch the next seasons of both OITNB and House of Cards. But I’m not sure that I will find it quite as captivating.
Getting back to Stranger Things. Is it possible for it to have an amazing second season? I honestly heard a lot of really good things about it from friends and even social media. I am also not a huge fan of horror, so I’m still not convinced that I will watch it. What I do find appealing about it is the nostalgia factor. It seems that they have really captured some really neat things from the 80s. Is that an oxymoron? Just kidding. But I do like when a show uses specifics from that era to be able to draw the audience in. Especially if it enhances the show, rather than bogging it down. You don’t want that to be the focus, but you also want it to be believable.
The one thing I will say about Netflix is that it brings people back season after season. So if you did watch the first season, you’re likely to watch the second season just because you want to see what’s next. I can’t see it being bad, considering how much people have been raving about the first season. But sometimes it’s hard to live up to that kind of hype. Regardless, it’s coming out October 27 – just in time for Halloween.