TOMATOMETER
AUDIENCE SCORE
Critic Consensus: Exciting, heartbreaking, and sometimes scary, Stranger Things acts as an addictive homage to Spielberg films and vintage 1980s television.
Episodes
Stranger Things: Season 1 Videos
Stranger Things: Season 1 Photos
Tv Season Info
Cast
as Joyce Byers
as Chief Hopper
as Eleven
as Mike Wheeler
as Dustin Henderson
as Lucas Sinclair
as Will Byers
as Nancy Wheeler
as Dr. Martin Brenner
as Jonathan Byers
as Karen Wheeler
as Troy Harrington
as Steve Harrington
as Roman/Kali
as Jen
News & Interviews for Stranger Things: Season 1
Critic Reviews for Stranger Things: Season 1
All Critics (77) | Top Critics (23) | Fresh (73) | Rotten (4)
In the spirit of longform TV mysteries such as Lost and Under the Dome comes a playfully spooky, Stephen Kingesque headscratcher designed to hook you five minutes in.
From time to time in the early episodes it does feel as though Stranger Things is only a gratuitous reference or two away from tipping over into uninspired pastiche, but it has enough ballast to keep righting itself.
Yes, this show lives in the past, but it isn't stuck there. Where, say, Fuller House or The X-Files ask if you remember your old life, Stranger Things reminds you of what it's like to be alive right now.
In the hands of its directors, the Duffer Brothers, Stranger Things is at turns touching (when it explores teenage love and friendship) and harrowing (when it follows the creature that turns out to be terrorizing the town).
The films "Stranger Things" honors transcended their genres. This seems happy to propitiate them.
Stranger Things is a rare example of a cultural phenomenon that has delivered wistfulness and familiarity without simply giving audiences more of the same.
Audience Reviews for Stranger Things: Season 1
One of the best new shows in 2016, Stranger Things started off slowly but quickly hooked me into its intriguing story line. Though the acting and writing were the best it still managed to be surprisingly entertaining.
Super Reviewer
This show is simply great. Easily the biggest and best Netflix TV Show ever made "Stranger Things" is so brilliant, bold, and well strange that it has and will continue to make waves in pop culture. I especially like how this TV Series is almost like a crime piece with all of its different angles and parts to it to develop a well thought out story. Very well done deserves its RT if not a little higher.
Super Reviewer
An amazing early 80s throwback, the screenplay and actors do an amazing job of conveying a sense of the time with references and feel in the show. I usually don't expect much from kid actors but all of the child actors here were amazing. Story hooks you pretty quick and after just 8 quick episodes, you definitely want more. I'd recommend this to anyone that has liked any or all of these: ET, The X-Files, Super 8, etc...
Super Reviewer
Discussion Forum
Discuss Stranger Things on our TV talk forum!