Netflix Has 1 More Chance To Redeem Its Stranger Things Replacement

Although Netflix screwed up Wednesday season 2’s release, the streaming service still has one more opportunity to make the blockbuster fantasy show its perfect Stranger Things replacement. The search for the next Stranger Things has been afoot for almost ten years now, ever since Netflix’s show became an unexpectedly huge breakout success in 2016.

Since Stranger Things ended, the pressure to find the next huge Netflix franchise has only grown, and it doesn’t look like this search will calm down anytime soon. Although Netflix’s upcoming show Something Very Bad Is Going to Happen might be produced by the show’s creators, the Duffer Brothers, the series is clearly not the next Stranger Things.

Instead, Something Very Bad Is Going to Happen is a dark psychological thriller. While it looks great, Netflix’s ideal replacement for its biggest show ever would need to be a more family-friendly series with broad appeal, genre elements, and a buzzy young cast. It would need to be a show like Tim Burton’s Addams Family re-imagining, Wednesday.

Netflix Mishandled Wednesday Season 2

The problem is, Netflix has recently done everything in its power to inadvertently ensure that Wednesday couldn’t be as big a breakout hit as Stranger Things. Wednesday is one of the streaming service’s most high-profile, big-budget releases, and the massive global marketing campaign surrounding season 2 made this clear.

However, as ScreenRant reported at the time of the show’s second season release, big publicity pushes don’t always equate to huge viewing numbers. When Wednesday season 2, part 1 was released in August 2025, the show immediately took the streaming service’s number one most-watched spot. However, volume 2 was not so lucky.

Compared to season 2, part 1’s debut, Wednesday season 2, part 2’s release saw a massive 43% decrease in viewers. By Netflix’s own admission, season 2, part 1 earned over 50 million viewers in its first week, whereas season 2, part earned only 28.2 million viewers in the same time frame after its release.

To be clear, Wednesday is still a major hit for Netflix more broadly. Season 2, part 2, still debuted at number one, and Wednesday’s season 3 renewal was guaranteed even before season 2, part 1 debuted, thanks to its popularity. However, the decision to break season 2 into two volumes still clearly hurt the show’s performance.

In comparison, Wednesday season 1 quickly became one of the streaming service’s most-watched original shows of all time when the series debuted, something season 2 didn’t come close to replicating. It is not clear whether the decision to split the second season into two volumes hurt its performance, but there is reason to believe this could be the case.

Wednesday Season 3 Shouldn’t Be Split Into Two Parts

Although breaking up seasons of Stranger Things only improved the show’s performance, that earlier Netflix hit had a different audience breakdown. There was also a much shorter break between seasons 1 and 2 of Stranger Things, and the show didn’t start breaking its releases into multi-episode volumes until season 4 of the show.

In contrast, the three-year wait for Wednesday season 2, combined with the decision to split the show’s release into two volumes, inevitably resulted in hype backlash. It is hard for any show to justify a three-year absence from screens, as evidenced by the chilly reception for Euphoria season 3’s promotional materials.

It is even harder for a show to break its long-awaited release into two separate volumes, something that annoyed even some Stranger Things fans when season 5’s release was split between November and December 2025. Since Wednesday hasn’t been around as long as Stranger Things, the show had less audience goodwill to rely on when it came to pulling off these flashy marketing stunts.

Netflix Has A Problem With New Seasons Of Their Flagship Shows

Wednesday’s comparative underperformance should ring alarm bells for Netflix, as the streaming service has struggled with this familiar pattern more than once in recent history. Often, Netflix will release the first season of a major show to audience and critical acclaim, only for season 2’s marketing and production to then slow down to a snail’s pace.

Combine this with the increased time between seasons, and by the time the show returns, it doesn’t feel like an event anymore. The same pattern can be observed with the three-year break between Squid Game seasons 1 and 2, which soured some viewers to the satirical South Korean thriller despite the near-unanimous praise received by its first outing.

By the time Wednesday season 3 arrives, viewers will once again have had to wait a long time for another chapter of Burton’s Addams Family spinoff. Rather than making matters worse by releasing the season in shorter piecemeal volumes, it makes more sense for the streaming service to woo viewers back by releasing the entire season in one drop.

Later in its run, Wednesday could experiment with splitting its seasons into volumes if the show’s viewership stays high. However, for now, Wednesday’s hopes of replacing Stranger Things could be dashed by the show’s own release schedule unless Netflix alters its approach.