HOLLYWOOD, CA – Netflix’s smash hit Stranger Things, which has drawn on influences like E.T., Nightmare On Elm Street, and Back To The Future, has used its recently-released 5th season to draw on viewer nostalgia for the year 2016, back when the show was fresh and people still enjoyed watching it.
Rather than evoking the 1980s, the show’s 5th and final season will draw on allusions to the Clinton/Trump election, Hamilton, and Pokémon GO, in a bid to ease viewers back into a mind frame where the popular streaming show had not yet become a bloated, rudderless parody of itself.
“A big part of Stranger Things‘ success has always been bringing viewers back into an emotional space where they were younger and had less of the world’s weight on their shoulders,” explains Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos. “That’s why we want season 5 to harken back to a simpler time, when the show had a manageable amount of characters and the kids were still adorable.”
Sarandos also outlined how 2025’s new Stranger Things episodes don’t incorporate Netflix’s current mandate to have characters continuously re-explain plot information so that viewers scrolling on their phones won’t be confused. “Just like back in 2016, when we still sort of respected our customers’ intelligence,” Sarandos added.
Since the release of 4 new Stranger Things episodes on November 26th, fans of the series have also noticed several allusions to the year 2016.
“In one new scene Dustin mentioned açaí bowls, which instantly brought me back to the year 2016 before the entire cast was visibly on Ozempic,” noted commenter @BarbFan2008.
“I like how in this new season their Ghostbusters references are about the 2016 all-female reboot, which reminds me of a time when Millie Bobby Brown wasn’t visibly bored to be playing Eleven,” noted Alexa Vanks, of Whistler B.C.
Gerry Marshall of Halifax notes, “I’m just relieved the new episodes keep referencing Brexit, because it reminds me of a time before Lily Allen’s music had taught me anything about David Harbour and buttplugs.”
Stranger Things creators Ross and Matt Duffer are also enthusiastic about the creative decision to evoke the year where their show debuted and was still embraced in the public zeitgeist.
“References to Pac-Man and The Neverending Story were always a blatant crutch we used to paper over weak storytelling,” explains Matt Duffer, “so it only made sense to use Beyoncé’s Lemonade to distract viewers from how shambling and overstretched this current slog of a season turned out to be.”
Ross Duffer adds, “In one scene Mike even dresses up in a hastily-made Eleven Halloween costume, to remind viewers of a time that they were still doing that. Nostalgia for the win!”
At press time Netflix has announced plans for 2026’s upcoming reboot of Stranger Things, to cash in on 2025 nostalgia.
