So, as you all know, one of my favorite Netflix original TV series is back and in full affect. The full season dropped on October 28th and the marketing push, especially the billboards, was second to none.  “A throwback and love letter to the early 1980s movies of Steven Spielberg and John Carpenter, the Duffer Brothers’. Stranger Things feels both familiar and new.” As a result of this nostalgic feeling, the below ratings provided to Variety by Symphony Advanced Media seem to portray a picture that reflects the vast notoriety this TV show concept has grown: most buzzed-about and best-reviewed and most watched.

“Stranger Things” make up the third most watched season of a Netflix original series to debut in the last year. Within its first 35 days on the streaming service, the supernatural drama averaged 14.07 million adults 18-49. Only season one of “Fuller House” and season four of “Orange is the New Black” drew larger demo audiences in their first 35 days.

Among Netflix originals, “Stranger Things” ranks ahead of “Making a Murderer” (13.35 million), “Daredevil” season two (13.35 million), “Jessica Jones” (6.26 million), “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt” season two (6.08 million), “The Ranch” (6.01 million), “House of Cards” season four (5.67 million), “F is for Family” (4.81 million) all other Netflix series that Symphony tracks.

Although, Netflix is like a black hole for metrics and will never confirm any ratings,  the above gives you a snapshot of what’s going on at a minimal. I would not be surprised if the ratings are even higher as Netflix has spent $6 billion (estimated to spend $8 Billion according to CEO, Reed Hastings) in 2017 content alone. That is more than any other streaming service and $1.5 billion more than Amazon to be exact.  And it looks like it pays off as Netflix this past quarter added 5.3 million streaming subscribers around the world, just shy of $1 million more that what they had told Wall Street that it would add (4.4 million).

So, make sure to check out all of the episodes of “Stranger Things” and if you did not watch season 1, no worries. Read the synopsis below and The New York Times breakdown on Season 1. Or, better yet, kick back and relax and Netflix and chill your way through season 1 and 2. You will not be disappointed.

SYNOPSIS

It’s about a boy named Will in Hawkins, Indiana (think E.T.‘s Elliot) who is captured by a The Thing-like creature and trapped in a Poltergeist-like world. His mother (Winona Ryder) recruits the local sheriff to investigate Will’s disappearance. Meanwhile, Will’s dorky, Goonies-like best friends take to their bikes to do some sleuthing of their own and eventually befriend an alien-like girl with telepathic powers (the E.T. of the series). The investigation into Will’s disappearance and the arrival of the telepathic girl all seem to lead back to a power plant operated by a character played by Matthew Modine. It’s a great PG horror/sci-fi, like the blockbusters of the early ’80s, which apparently is timeless because it is still widely and wildly appealing in 2017.

💜Love & Light☀️,
CRISTEN M. MILLS