If you need any further proof about the impact of “Stranger Things” on the pop culture zeitgeist, all you had to do was wander around to Halloween parties last weekend and you would’ve seen countless people costumed as their favorite characters from the show. Netflix‘s immense hit is one the biggest new shows right now (along with “Westworld“) and the fans have been fervent and quite vocal. From demanding justice for Barb to spinning their own theories about the Upside Down and more, you might imagine that creators and directors Matt and Ross Duffer would feel pressure to appease their supporters. But according to producer Shawn Levy, the duo are going to stick to their vision in season two, and hope people still come along for the ride.
“We don’t live under a rock,” he told io9. “We really want to satisfy expectations and affections of our fans, but that’s not to say we’re going to cater to everything people want. At the end of the day, we are going to rely, as we did in season one, on the core instincts of the [Duffer] brothers.”
And credit for the Duffers’ ability to stay in their own creative bubble might come from the freedom they’ve been allowed at Netflix, with Levy revealing they don’t have too many suits hanging over their heads.
“There’s no studio, there’s no outside showrunner, there’s no big TV company. There’s literally [producer] Dan Cohen, me, the Duffer Brothers and we deal with three execs at Netflix,” he said. “This TV show is made by a smaller team than almost any TV show or movie I’ve ever heard of.”
The table read for “Stranger Things” season two starts this week, with filming to follow, and it’s good to hear that the Duffers are just going to do their thing. I can’t wait to see where they take audiences next.