Netflix and the Duffer Brothers have used Stranger Things to capture and hold the public’s attention in a way never before seen with a television show. But was this a masterfully executed marketing play that was fumbled at the one yard line?
There are too many shows. I’m old enough to remember a time when television gave us a shared experience. Across the nation, everybody would tune in at the scheduled time to see the next episode of 24. The last episode of Lost whipped people into a frenzy. On Feb 28th, 1983, at 8:30 pm, one hundred-and-five-million people tuned in to watch the series finale of M*A*S*H. Shows like The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Friends, Seinfeld, and The Simpsons gave us cultural references that could be shared across all demographics. Because we all watched these shows at the same time, the next day at the water cooler, we had common ground to discuss. This doesn’t really happen in today’s absolute maelstrom of content. Now, at the water cooler, if you ask, “What are you watching?” the response will likely be a handful of shows you’ve never heard of. There have been shows that have risen above the bog of eternal streamers, but none as powerfully as Stranger Things. Creators, the Duffer Brothers, have somehow distilled all the best elements of eighties cinema and bottled it into an intoxicating five seasons of TV. It has worked so well that viewership on the final season continues to break Netflix viewership records.
The layers of complexity are too much to unpack here, but if you haven’t been living in The Upside Down, the Coles Notes are as follows. The fifth and final season of Stranger Things was scheduled to air in three volumes. The rollout of the final season was enough to activate the fanbase to flood social media with all Things Stranger. This show has always been loaded with Easter eggs, hidden messages, and cultural references which give deeper insights into the story. This has provided tremendous fodder for social media, with endless material for theories, conspiracies, predictions, discoveries, and debates. Fans combing through previous episodes, finding clues, making connections. Stranger Things has activated the imagination of its viewers to build the story beyond what is presented onscreen. Not only have The Duffers and Netflix captured the magic of the eighties cinema, but also harnessed the power of social media more powerfully than any other television property in history.
The first four episodes aired on the eve of American Thanksgiving, the next three on Christmas Day, culminating in a 2+ hour finale on New Year’s Eve. Episode 8. The End. Or… was it? Something about the finale was…. Strange. On one hand, the final episode was satisfying enough. The bad guy was vanquished, the kids were saved, order was restored, an appropriate number of people died. We got the excitement of a big battle and moments of heartwarming closure with our favourite characters. If you just turned your brain off and consumed what was onscreen, the ending totally worked. Many were content. But the creators of the show know their audience. They knew, as soon as the end credits on episode eight were rolling, there would be a large number of fans who would not be satisfied. Some theorized that the Duffers had lost their touch and constructed an episode that had glaring inconsistencies and improbabilities. Complaints quickly stacked up. Where were the demogorgons? Why did the military just let them go? How can Max graduate if she was in a coma for two years? But the Duffers knew every frame of the episode would be picked apart, analyzed, questioned, compared and the packed it full of goodies. Fans gobbled up the opportunity to dig deeper, and Conformity Gate was born.
Hello, Conformity Gate
Conformity Gate is the theory that the ending we saw onscreen wasn’t “real”. That the characters are actually living inside an illusion completely controlled by the main villain, Vecna. Most compellingly, there was a secret ninth episode that would air on January 7th.
Many people thought this was a cute idea, but didn’t take it too seriously. But sleuths kept sleuthing, and the conspiracy grew. I won’t go into all the clues discovered and dots connected, it’s too vast. By January 6th there was a stunning cache of evidence that Conformity Gate was real. Social media was on fire!
Suddenly, a TV show about mystery and conspiracy, in which the characters question what is real, had millions of people IRL participating in a conspiracy, wracking their brains to figure out what was real or not. On top of all the fan-found evidence, official accounts for Netflix and Stranger Things were dropping social media clues which, although cryptic, seemed to confirm Conformity Gate. Same with many of the actors involved. The show is too well thought out, the placement of the easter eggs and clues is far too intentional to be a coincidence.
I love it when I can get emotionally invested in a show, but this was a whole other level. I would discuss with anybody in the office, or the local Barista, or the guy next to me in the elevator. “Do you watch Stranger Things?” I made some new friends! At the beginning of the week, most people thought it was nonsense, but as January 7th drew near, everybody I talked to believed. “I believe” (another line from ep. 8 designed to mess with our heads). My kids were even more locked in than I. So, on January 7th, we sat down in front of the TV fully expecting the 9th and “true” final episode to appear on Netflix. It didn’t come.
There were all these theories involving numbers, so initially we thought 7pm. But then, all the other episodes went live at 8pm. But then, January 7th could be interpreted as 7 and 10, so maybe it was 7pm Pacific Time and 10 pm Eastern time? But by 11pm, after refreshing Netflix a thousand times and scanning Instagram and TikTok for clues and news, we gave up and went to bed.
Marketing Perfection or Lost Opportunity?
The whole ride with Stranger Things has been a joy. I discovered it with my wife and children in the midst of COVID, in the depths of winter. It was the perfect escape, and the first show that we binge-watched as a family. We continued every season together and shared the delight and anguish of the series concluding. The rollercoaster of emotions we experienced around Conformity Gate was thrilling until we felt dumped off at the end with no payoff.
That week between the final episode on January 1st, and the anticipated “real” final episode on the 7th was intense in the best way. It was SO FUN to get caught up in the real world conspiracy of it all. And I, like so many others, was taken on a journey that escaped the screen and infiltrated my soul. It was a big bouncy castle of entertainment bliss, that deflated over several hours on a Wednesday night.
It ain’t over though. There was a “making of” documentary that released on January 12th that many thought would be a big surprise. It wasn’t. But it also has been picked apart and added to the mound of evidence that Conformity Gate is real. Netflix and others connected with the show seem to be trolling us with videos and cryptic clues released through various media channels. The influencers who have guided us down the Conformity Gate path are posting exasperated videos, trying to figure out WTF is happening. The conversation is still going, but the absolute attention that was held in that first week of January has dissipated; it’s like we had a stadium filled with people all cheering for the same thing, and now it’s emptied out and there are three guys hanging in the bleachers talking about what could have been.
It was marketing, but it didn’t feel like it. The Duffers and Netflix were able to capture the audience’s attention and hold it in a way never previously done. And although these theories around Conformity Gate are assembled and promoted by fans, the seeds were intelligently and deliberately planted and fertilised by the creators of Stranger Things. They carefully led us down the path while making us feel like we were participating in the show. So what happened? Did they build us up for something they can’t deliver? Are they trying to extend their grasp on their attention span to clumsily promote other Netflix properties?
Did they accomplish what they wanted or miss an opportunity? What do you think?
I’m done immersing myself in Stranger Things social media. I’m not rushing to watch the documentary. The giddy conversations with my family about Conformity Gate have disappeared. I’m done having my emotions batted around. But… I believe. Eventually, something very cool will happen with Stranger Things and I will be here for it.
