With Final Season of ‘Stranger Things’ on the Horizon, Netflix Plans “Stranger Season” (Exclusive)
Get ready to see Stranger Things everywhere.
Ahead of the show’s fifth and final season next year, Netflix is launching what it is calling “Stranger Season,” with experiences and activations, new consumer products and a new comic book collection, all meant to make the hit series impossible to miss over the next few weeks and months.
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Among the new offerings is a partnership with the fitness brand Peloton, which will launch a Stranger Things-inspired Peloton Lanebreak level. Peloton Lanebreak combines music and interactive elements into its fitness product, with the company promising visual elements and music from the show in the 20-minute class.
“We’re always looking for new ways to make fitness fun and engaging, and this collaboration with Netflix is the perfect example of that,” said Jim Green, group product manager at Peloton. “By combining the thrill of the series with the excitement of Lanebreak, we’re giving our members a unique way to immerse themselves in their workouts, while staying motivated.”
Netflix will also host a special screening series at its Egyptian Theatre in Los Angeles later this month, curated by creators the Duffer brothers and featuring films that inspired the series, including Ghost Busters, The Shining, The Thing and Poltergeist. On Halloween, the theater will host a fan event and screening of the Stranger Things 2 “Chapter 2: Trick or Treat, Freak” episode.
And the company will roll out a slew of Stranger Things-themed products, including a new comic book collection from Dark Horse Comics called Stranger Things and Dungeons & Dragons: The Rise of Hellfire. Also in the works is a series of Stranger Things-inspired Squishmallows, which will join new products from Polly Pocket, ColourPop Cosmetics, Scoops Ahoy Ice Cream, and a new novel from Penguin Random House set to release Oct. 29.
The jewelry retailer Pandora is also creating a collection of charms, bracelets, rings and earrings inspired by the show that “tap into this nostalgic idea of the world before the internet, calling to mind a 1980s sensibility of budget horror films, arcades, neon colors and heavy metal,” per Pandora creative directors A. Filippo Ficarelli and Francesco Terzo.
Stranger Season is meant to take the annual “Stranger Things Day” celebration on Nov. 6 and turn it, well, upside down, making what has become arguably Netflix’s most well-known intellectual property into a ubiquitous part of the autumn culture. (In the show’s world on Nov. 6, 1983, Will Byers went missing in Hawkins, Indiana.)
And as Netflix seeks to build out its live events and consumer products businesses, there is no show better positioned to help do it than Stranger Things.
In addition to the slew of consumer products, Stranger Things is currently being featured at Six Flags theme parks as part of its Fright Fests Halloween experience.
And of course there is a stage play, Stranger Things: The First Shadow, which is currently playing in London’s West End, and which will come to New York’s Marquis Theatre next year.
In 2022, the Duffer brothers revealed plans for a spinoff series — the details of which have been kept under wraps — along with an animated series set in the same world. It was one of five projects the siblings announced as part of their overall deal with Netflix, including the stage play.
So, Netflix is betting that Stranger Things can have a shelf life beyond its final season next year, especially with its status as the most memorable IP that the streaming giant has helped launch. While there are other franchises with legs, including Bridgerton, Emily in Paris and Squid Game, Stranger Things has permeated pop culture in a way no other show has, and with the company launching Netflix Houses next year, meant to bring its shows to the real world, there is no desire to let the franchise fade away.
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