“Stranger Things” is back, tasked with entertaining the masses and saving Netflix, or some such.
The two things are not unrelated. Netflix, which lost subscribers for the first time and a big chunk of its value, could use a hit, a buzz-worthy series, something everyone will be talking about.
Can that hit still be “Stranger Things?” This is its fourth season — seven episodes premiere on May 27, and two more on July 1. We wait seemingly ages between seasons (it’s been three years since the last one), which is doubly dicey when child stars, or former child stars, are involved.
Indeed, the actors are tipping into “Beverly Hills 90210” territory here, looking like they could stop by a club for a martini on the drive home from high school.
Is there any reason to believe that “Stranger Things” can remain relevant for anything other than curiosity value?
Yes, actually. And for reasons that surprised me.
‘Stranger Things’ is still derivative of Stephen King and more
The fourth season doesn’t break a lot of new ground, but you don’t really expect that from a series that is so wholly derivative of Stephen King novels, Steven Spielberg movies, 1980s pop culture and about half the shows and movies you’ see ever seen.
Which has always been, of course, its not-so-secret weapon. It’s either a loving homage or an amiable ripoff, but either way, it’s got some things going for it.
And against it.
Like the other seasons, it’s too long, including the running time of the episodes, which clock in at an hour-plus, and the middle drags. (Netflix sent the first seven episodes for review.) No one looks like they’re in high school. It’s still derivative, of course — “Minority Report” is another reference point, along with several others, like “The Shining.”
Spoilers ahead and will be avoided here. But it will come as no surprise that the world is once again in danger from supernatural forces of evil, and the modern version of Our Gang must work to save it. There is plenty of gross-out horror; the main villain is particularly destructive when dispatching victims.
The core group — Mike (Finn Wolfhard), Dustin (Gaten Matarazzo), Will (Noah Schnapp) and Lucas (Caleb McLaughlin) — are back, though circumstances have changed things around a bit. Of course, Eleven (Millie Bobbie Brown), or El, returns, though her life is also different.
What’s odd is that I didn’t really care much about this bunch, particularly in the early episodes. Of course, El’s still central to the story. But only Lucas, now a bench warmer on the basketball team, is really intriguing.
It’s the secondary characters that really shine this season. Eddie Munson (Joseph Quinn), a new character, looks old enough to be the principal’s father, but his drug-selling, D&D playing burnout proves to be compelling, and surprisingly sweet, sort of.
Secondary characters, like Nancy and Robin, are what’s best in season 4

The continuing Laurel and Hardy act Dustin and Steve (Joe Keery) have going is more entertaining than Dustin’s dealings with his original friends. And I would watch an entire series that followed Nancy (Natalia Dyer) and Robin (Maya Hawke) as they roamed around town solving mysteries, which is part of what they do here. (Hawke gets the big laugh lines throughout, and she nails them.)
Also, and this is not just limited to “Stranger Things,” any time Brett Gelman appears on any screen is reason for celebration, and usually laughter. (He’s so, so good at being so bad in “fleabag.”)
Maybe this is the natural course of things. With any ensemble show worth its salt, your favorite character changes throughout its run. It should change — a series isn’t a stagnant thing. It grows or shrinks, and different characters come to the fore or retreat. We learn more about them, and the performances of the actors playing them.
And this season the secondary characters are coming into sharper focus.
It’s fair to say there are entire storylines this season I don’t care about at all. But it’s also fair to say that, even if bloated, there are still a lot of things about “Stranger Things” I like. They’re just different things, as they should be.
‘Stranger Things’
Volume I streaming on Netflix May 27, Volume II on July 1.
Reach Goodykoontz at bill.goodykoontz@arizonarepublic.com. Facebook: facebook.com/GoodyOnFilm. Twitter: @goodyk. Subscribe to the weekly movies newsletter.
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