Stranger Things is running up that hill to break records for Netflix.
The streamer says the recently concluded fourth season of Stranger Things has been viewed for a whopping 1.15 billion hours during its first 28 days of release, per The Hollywood Reporter. That makes it only the second Netflix series to pass this threshold in a month after the hit South Korean show Squid Game, and the first English-language series to do so.
Stranger Things passed the 1 billion hour mark after the release of Vol. 2 of season four, which included the final two episodes — though it's worth noting that Netflix measures the series' popularity via hours viewed, and the fourth season was unusually long, ending with a two-and-a-half hour finale.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Still, it's clear Stranger Things remains as big a hit as ever, racking up tons of social media buzz, breaking Nielsen records, and even helping Kate Bush earn over $2 million in royalties off her song "Running Up That Hill," which was featured prominently in the season. This couldn't have come at a better time for Netflix, which earlier this year saw its stock take a hit after it lost subscribers for the first time in 10 years, leading to multiple rounds of layoffs.
Unfortunately for Netflix, Stranger Things will end with its upcoming fifth season, which will probably be released sometime in 2024 and is expected to feature shorter episodes — though a spinoff, the plot of which hasn't been revealed, will follow.
-
5 cartoons of mass destruction about Dick Cheney’s legacyCartoon Artists take on hall of fame, pearly gates, and more
-
What happens to a Democratic Party without Nancy Pelosi?TODAY'S BIG QUESTION The storied former speaker of the House is set to retire, leaving congressional Democrats a complicated legacy and an uncertain future
-
The plant-based portfolio diet focuses on heart healthThe Explainer Its guidelines are flexible and vegan-friendly
-
Hungary’s Krasznahorkai wins Nobel for literatureSpeed Read László Krasznahorkai is the author of acclaimed novels like ‘The Melancholy of Resistance’ and ‘Satantango’
-
Primatologist Jane Goodall dies at 91Speed Read She rose to fame following her groundbreaking field research with chimpanzees
-
Florida erases rainbow crosswalk at Pulse nightclubSpeed Read The colorful crosswalk was outside the former LGBTQ nightclub where 49 people were killed in a 2016 shooting
-
Trump says Smithsonian too focused on slavery's illsSpeed Read The president would prefer the museum to highlight 'success,' 'brightness' and 'the future'
-
Trump to host Kennedy Honors for Kiss, StalloneSpeed Read Actor Sylvester Stallone and the glam-rock band Kiss were among those named as this year's inductees
-
White House seeks to bend Smithsonian to Trump's viewSpeed Read The Smithsonian Institution's 21 museums are under review to ensure their content aligns with the president's interpretation of American history
-
Charlamagne Tha God irks Trump with Epstein talkSpeed Read The radio host said the Jeffrey Epstein scandal could help 'traditional conservatives' take back the Republican Party
-
CBS cancels Colbert's 'Late Show'Speed Read 'The Late Show with Stephen Colbert' is ending next year
