There’s an asterisk on Netflix’s new milestone
The final season of Netflix’s Stranger Things is here and — surprise, surprise — it’s a hit for the streamer. The company announced Tuesday that Vol. 1 of Stranger Things season 5 is now historically “the biggest premiere week ever” for an English-language show, amassing 59.6 million views in its debut week.
Stranger Things season 5 made it into the top 10 in all 93 countries tracked and reached No. 1 in 90 of them, according to Netflix.
“The sheer number of fans who have already watched Volume 1 is staggering — the response has been more than we ever could have dreamed,” said Stranger Things creators Matt and Ross Duffer in a statement. “The show is now a decade old, and seeing the fanbase not only endure but continue to grow has been incredibly rewarding for us, the actors, and the thousands of artists who helped bring this story to life. We truly cannot thank everyone enough, and we are beyond excited to share Volume 2 — there’s so much more to come!”
The “more to come” includes three more episodes of Stranger Things on Christmas Day and the series/season finale, which arrives on Netflix — and in select movie theaters — on New Year’s Eve.
Stranger Things 5’s viewership feat does come with a caveat though: the whole “English-language” thing. The retro sci-fi show’s impressive season 5 debut trails only behind Netflix’s Squid Game, which amassed a whopping 68 million views for its second season, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Even if Stranger Things is holding onto second place globally, it’s undeniable that Netflix (and fans) will miss the series when it’s gone. But at least fans have the animated Stranger Things semi-prequel and an upcoming fun-looking Lego build to wean themselves off the franchise.
