Audiences were enraptured by Frank Underwood, the murderous, deceitful, and well spoken politician when House of Cards hit Netflix back in 2013. In 2015, Daredevil brought the perfect combination of drama and vigilantism with its portrayal of Matt Murdock, the blind lawyer with the fear of god but the devil’s sentiment. Both shows would find themselves sitting comfortably within IMDb’s top 100 TV shows. Now, audiences have flocked to the next great show to dawn on Netflix, and it comes in the form of a quiet young girl who can snap a neck like a wishbone without lifting a finger.
Business Insider has reported that Netflix’s sci-fi Horror series Stranger Things has surpassed acclaimed shows like Daredevil, House of Cards, Narcos, and Jessica Jones to become one of the biggest hits on Netflix. Within the first 16 days of its premiere, Stranger Things garnered over 8.2 million views, putting it just behind the new season of veteran show Orange Is the New Black and newcomer Fuller House, the revival of the 1987 sitcom Full House.
Netflix is known for keeping its release ratings a private affair, meaning it is difficult to get an exact read on the numbers, but sights like SymphonyAM have striven to give as accurate data as they can on ratings for shows on Netflix. It should be noted that Netflix has disputed the numbers reported by SymphonyAM in the past, claiming them to be inaccurate, but with no other indication of what the true ratings are from Netflix, it is likely that these numbers will be as accurate as it gets.
For those apprehensive about checking out Stranger Things, don’t let the sci-fi/horror elements or 80’s theme put you off. The acting from the entire cast is phenomenal, be it from known actors like Winona Ryder or from the incredible child cast. The story is captivating and well told, never becoming stale or stagnant and continually ramping up the intensity and mystery. Stranger Things is an excellent homage to sci-fi/horror films of the 80’s, mixing a fresh story with the right amount of nostalgia to create a strange new thing that will linger on in the minds of its viewers.
For those who need a little more strangeness in their lives after completing the first season, the first volume of the Stranger Things soundtrack has just been released with the second volume coming out August 19, and those eerie synth tunes should make for excellent late night driving music. For fans eager to know if they will be getting second season, Netflix CEO Reed Hastings has all but confirmed a second season, stating that passing up on season 2 of Stranger Things “would be dumb.”