Netflix experienced a brief technical outage Wednesday night as fans of “Stranger Things” swarmed the streamer in anticipation of an alternate series finale they thought would drop one week after the show’s end—despite warnings from the show’s creators there was no such episode coming.
Key Takeaways
- More than 1,200 users reported Netflix outages on DownDetector just before 8 p.m. EST on Wednesday, exactly one week after the series finale of the hugely popular show aired on the streamer, as fans rushed to check if a secret episode had been released.
- The theory another installment was coming, called #ConformityGate on social media, was created by fans who were convinced the series conclusion that debuted on New Year’s Eve “was so bad” it had to be a red herring for an alternate ending that would close plot holes and more satisfyingly end relationships.
- #ConformityGate was fueled by superfans going back to find details and continuity errors to support their theory, and the rumors were so pervasive it led Netflix to change the social media bios for all of the “Stranger Things” accounts to read: “ALL EPISODES OF STRANGER THINGS ARE NOW PLAYING.”
- But that didn’t stop fans from flocking to Netflix and then expressing their disappointment online when the theory was debunked: “So now that we all know that the ending was just horrible and lazy writing,” one fan wrote on X, with another adding “conformitygate is such a brutal theory because it’s just pointing out every plot hole and inconsistency in the show itself.”
Big Number
105.7 million. That’s how many views the fifth season of “Stranger Things” has racked up since its first episodes dropped in late November. That number ranks it ninth among Netflix’s most-watched English TV shows of all time. The fourth season is the streamer’s third most-watched show with 140.7 million views.
Key Background
“Stranger Things” became a global phenomenon after its first season, released in 2016, launched the careers of then-child stars like Millie Bobby Brown and Sadie Sink. The science fiction show follows a group of kids and adults working to uncover the mysteries of a parallel dimension called the “Upside Down.” The later seasons of the show, four and five, shattered records for Netflix. Season 4 holds the record for the streamer’s biggest premiere weekend and Season 5 achieved the biggest weekly viewership total ever for a streaming title in its debut week.
What To Watch For
More from the “Stranger Things” universe. A documentary chronicling the making of Season 5, “One Last Adventure,” will debut on Jan. 12. An animated series called “Stranger Things: Tales of ’85″ is also in the works,” as is an unnamed live-action series from creators Ross Duffer and Matt Duffer.
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