Writers 'Strike Impacts Netflix Series 'Stranger Things'
Fans of the Netflix series *Stranger Things* will now have to wait longer to see the conclusion of the story featuring psychokinetic teenager Eleven and her friends.
Creators of the show Matt and Ross Duffer announced on social media they are halting work due to a writers' strike, which began after collective bargaining talks between writers and studios collapsed earlier this month.
"Writing doesn't end when filming begins," the Duffer Brothers tweeted Saturday. "While we're super excited to start production with our amazing cast and crew, it's not possible during this strike."
It's not just the Duffers, though. Big-name creatives who have signed on to picket and stand in solidarity with their writer brethren, like J.J. Abrams—the mind behind the rebooted latest *Star Wars* trilogy and a *Star Trek*—and Jason Sudeikis of *Ted Lasso* fame, hit the picket lines.
The work stoppage comes just as Hollywood finds itself in crisis mode. Big franchise players, from the Marvel Cinematic Universe to others, are underperforming. Investors are now demanding increased attention to profitability over subscriber growth for studios such as Disney. Major media players like Warner Bros. and Discovery are merging for better competition through giant content libraries.
Meanwhile, Stranger Things has remained one of the jewels in Netflix's crown as the series continued to achieve critical and commercial success. It became the streamer's most-watched English-language show when the fourth installment notched 1.35 billion hours viewed in its first 28 days, surpassing other popular titles such as Bridgerton and The Crown.
It has also had cultural impacts. Kate Bush's song "Running Up That Hill," which featured vastly in the new season, returned to the charts; and *Stranger Things* Day is celebrated by fans on November 6 to mark the day Eleven and Mike first met.
In April, writers voted overwhelmingly to authorize a strike as negotiations began to falter for a new three-year contract with studios. Unlike 2017, last-minute negotiations failed and union leaders ordered a strike.
The first such walkout of writers since the nationally revamped 100-day strike in November 2007, which genuinely upset Hollywood. Actor Daniel Craig attributed the lackluster quality of his second James Bond film, Quantum of Solace, to the strike forcing him to contribute to the script while filming. A strike that clipped TV seasons and is often blamed for doing in Tim Kring's series Heroes after one season.
Even though the current strike will slow down work on *Stranger Things*, it is beyond doubt that the show will keep on course to an end, which was recently described through upcoming final episodes.
"We hope a fair deal is reached soon so we can all get back to work," commented the Duffer Brothers. "Until then—over and out.".
