The hit Netflix series Stranger things became one of the relatively few television series ever made to transcend its boundaries and become a one-of-a-kind pop culture phenomenon. It hasn't just produced four (and soon to be five) incredibly popular seasons; it has also spread its tentacles into other types of media, such as tie-in books, comics, board games, video games, podcasts, pop-up retail stores, and much more.
In many ways, Stranger things it has become an industry in its own right. When something as popular as this Netflix series becomes so big, there's only one way to properly celebrate it: by giving the series its own holiday, Stranger Things Day.! If 2024 is the first year you'll celebrate for yourself, then you're in the right place to find out what this day entails and, more importantly, what it recognizes.
What is Stranger Things Day?
The special day of your favorite show
Imagine your favorite TV show having a birthday. Well, if you're a fan of Stranger thingsso guess what? It does! Stranger Things Day is an annual celebration organized by Netflix as part of its promotional strategy to maintain Stranger things fresh in the public's consciousness, even as the time between seasons of the series seems to continue to lengthen with each subsequent release.
The first-ever Stranger Things Day took place on November 6, 2018, between the release dates of Season 2 and Season 3. Since then, fans have continued to anxiously await the start of every November to be inundated with everything what you need to know. Stranger things content they can handle.
Why is Stranger Things Day on November 6th?
To observe the day when we all almost lost our will
When most people first learn about Stranger Things Day, the number one question is why it falls on November 6th. Well, the answer is apparently simple. It's because November 6th is the in-universe date that Will Byers first disappeared in the Upside Down.
In Stranger things' first episode, Will Byers is seen playing Dungeons and dragons with his friends Dustin, Mike and Lucas. During his long cycle home, he encounters an otherworldly creature and disappears without a trace, leading his friends and mother Joyce to search for him. This, in turn, leads to the discovery of Eleven and the rest of the epic Stranger things the saga unfolds from there.
In our real world, Stranger Things Day is often marked by the release of new behind-the-scenes footage from each upcoming season of Stranger things. If, for whatever reason, there is no new footage ready to be shown, then Netflix will celebrate the franchise as a whole with retrospectives that relive some of the series' biggest moments, while also releasing limited-edition products and providing in-depth information. look at whatever new medium the series is preparing to branch into the next one.
What happened on the first Stranger Things Day?
No one ever remembers their first birthday, and for good reason
The first Stranger Things Day was celebrated on November 6, 2018and it came along with a special video shot on the set of season three that featured several of them Stranger things' cast members wish their fans a happy Stranger Things Day.
Although a little more muted than the festivities to come, this first Stranger Things Day also saw Universal Studios reopen the first Stranger Things attraction so fans could celebrate in person alongside each other.
What happened on Stranger Things Day from 2019 to 2022?
The Greater Stranger Things universe has continued to expand
Over the next four years, Netflix continued to expand this idea by increasing its size and scope. That said, 2019 and 2020 passed with relatively little outside of a series of bloopers for all three seasons and a visual for the first episode of season four, “The Hellfire Club,” unleashed upon the world.
Then, in 2021, Netflix made a few more stops. On November 6 of that year, they released the fourth and final teaser for season four, pulled back the curtain on the remaining episode titles, and released a bunch of artwork featuring the biggest ones. Stranger things universe as a whole. The fourth season finally arrived on Netflix about six months later, and on the following Stranger Things Day in 2022, Netflix shifted its focus and began teasing fans with some tidbits about the upcoming final season, revealing that the first episode would titled “The Crawl”.
But that wasn't all. Netflix went all out in 2022 by sending out Season 4 episodes like “Papa” and “The Piggyback” to play in select theaters across the United States. They also announced the creation of a Stranger things video game called Tales of riddles, which appeared on Netflix's gaming service, as well as the development of Stranger Things VRwhich was eventually released on Meta Quest VR in early 2024 and allowed audiences to explore the Upside Down from the perspective of one of the franchise's most evil characters, Vecna.
In a bit of cross-promotional synergy, Netflix also teamed up with Megan Thee Stallion that year to produce a superfan trivia video featuring the viral hip-hop star. In short, it was the first Stranger Things Day in which Netflix spared no expense, a trend that continued the following year.
What happened on the last Stranger Things Day in 2023?
Both players and theatergoers rejoiced
As hard as it may be to believe, November 6, 2023 was almost a year ago. During the last Stranger Things Day, Netflix produced a featurette that gave fans an in-depth look at the first phase of production of the series, Stranger Things: The First Shadow. They also revealed a first look at the opening page of the script for the season five premiere.
On its TikTok account, Netflix continuously streamed the first ever Stranger things episode “The Disappearance of Will Byers”. Looking to make further inroads with the new generation of social media users and gamers, Netflix has also partnered with the hugely popular gaming properties Fortnite AND Dead in daylight produce exclusively Stranger things skins and contents. Much more creative, however, was how Netflix brought two of them Stranger things In-universe snacks for our everyday real world.
Does Stranger Things have its own pizza and ice cream?
You better believe it
As exciting as it may be for fans to learn more about the upcoming episodes of one of their favorite television series when it comes to Stranger Things Day, the real fun lies in finding exclusive products like Scoops Ahoy ice cream and Palermo's Surfer Boy Pizza!
Right; If you were lucky enough to live near Friendswood, Texas, Las Vegas, Nevada, or Atlanta, Georgia, last Stranger Things Day, you might have gone in search of your Scoops Ahoy ice cream truck (but, no, unfortunately, Steve didn't was driving it). Boasting flavors like USS Butterscotch, Chocolate Pudding, Cinnamon Bun Bites and even Upside Down inspired editions like Pineapple Upside Down and The Void, there was a little something for every taste. Stranger things fans in your world.
Even more inventive was the release of Surfer Boy Pizza, the brand of pizza delivered by Argyle in the fourth season of Stranger things. In the frozen section of their local Walmart stores, fans could look for flavors like BBQ Chicken, Surfer Special, Spicy Combo, and Argyle's favorite, Pineapple Jalapeño, along with more routine editions like Pepperoni, Multi-Meat, Cheese, and Supreme. . Each of these frozen pizzas arrived in retro '80s packaging inspired by the show and were an instant hit among the series' many fans.
Of course, this leaves us with the question of what Stranger Things Day 2024 will hold. As of this writing, nothing has been announced so far, but with the release of Season 5 still a ways away, don't be surprised to get more videos behind the scenes. fifth on November 6th.
There may also be news on the spin-off series that Netflix has ordered, including, perhaps, the long-gestating one Stranger Things Tokyo anime series. Whatever happens on November 6, 2024, let's hope that it's the last Stranger Things Day before the series finally concludes and that the holiday continues to evolve from there.