Some people would have you believe that you can never have too much of a good thing. These individuals have probably never tuned in to a television show that, after some time, wound up dragging on for far too long – leaving the desire to have all of its little mysteries wrapped up with a nice big bow hanging in the wind. Thankfully for fans of Netflix's STRANGER THINGS, creators Ross and Matt Duffer are thinking hard about the future of their little big program, and would like to see things wrapped up by the end of four or five seasons worth of material.
While speaking with Entertainment Weekly, Ross Duffer remarked, "Everything changes as we move forward so we’ll see." Matt Duffer then chimes in, "I want it to have a really finite ending. I don’t want it to be one of those shows that runs out of gas and they lose it because they’re losing interest. You wanna end when you’re on top." In regard to STRANGER THINGS Season 2, the Duffer brothers are taking a more "theatrical" or "feature" approach to the show's presentation. By this I mean that Season 2 will feel more like a several-hour-long film presentation than the traditional episodic format of most Netflix series-related programming. But don't take my word for it. You can read what Ross had to say right here, "Hopefully you’ll come to the end of season 2 and feel fully satisfied and want more but you’ll feel like it has come to a conclusion. But also we’ve laid the ground work for further seasons."
Personally, I'm quite relieved to hear that The Duffer Brothers have a plan. It would be all too easy to stretch the success of STRANGER THINGS to absurd proportions, given the show's incredible reception from fans of the science fiction action genre and beyond. The way I see it is this, eventually, these kids are going to grow up. The time line will start to look wonky as Will, Eleven, and all of their friends start growing out of their Goonies-like age brackets. We're seeing it now with the young adult cast of Fox's GOTHAM, and it's not like STRANGER THINGS is safe from things such as puberty, scheduling demands, and roles that could be on the horizon for the show's up-and-coming cast members. I say that if The Duffer Brothers can settle on an ending and work their way toward that end, go for it!
What do you all think? Do you like this idea of STRANGER THINGS having an end-date in mind? Do you wish the show would go on forever so long as there is a worth while story to tell? Would you like to see a STRANGER THINGS spin-off? Maybe STRANGER THINGS: THE BARB FILES? Heh, sorry, I just had to throw that one in there. I'm feeling a might punchy, today.
STRANGER THINGS Season 2 will debut on Netflix come this Halloween of 2017!