Season 1 was great; Season 2 jumped the shark a bit. I'll give it 4 out of 5 stars. Keep reading...
The first season of any new show is always amazing because we never know what to expect. The twists and turns of the first season were great. There are three generations of storytelling being told at the same time. The older set of Lonnie, Joyce, and Jim trying to help the kids against Martin Brenner (Matthew Modine) a mysterious bad guy and Dr. Sam Owens (Paul Reiser). Then there's the high school teens making up Jonathan and his crush Nancy Wheeler (Natalie Dyer), who's Mike's older sister, her boyfriend Steve (that cute actor with ALOT of hair Joe Keery), and the "popular" crew. And finally there's Will and his friends. Everyone meshes well and stories are very seemless.
Season 2 for me was a let down. The show was very dark...lighting wise it was hard to even see the actors in the scenes. The stories were rushed. And I actually despise when monsters are shown in TV shows because they aren't nearly as creative and perfect as movie monsters. A new family is introduced for no apparent reason as every character is a distraction from the main cast (the older brother Billy played by Darce Montgomery is a jerkfaceboy raised by the overbearing Neil - Will Chase. I don't know if I'm suppose to feel bad for Billy, but I mos def don't).
For me Winona deserves an Emmy. She is fantastic and believable as Joyce. David Harbour & Millie are the only two major acting nods the first season with Shannon Purser getting a nomination for Guest Actress in a Drama Series. Hopefully season 2 yields more accolades for people in the cast.
The story behind "Stranger Things" is even more incredible. The hot Duffer brothers (Ross is married; Matt is single...until we meet of course) wrote/directed the 2015 movie"Hidden" in the vain of M. Night Shyamalan. Studios weren't keen, but M Night loved it and mentored them by hiring them on "Wayward Pines" as directors/writers. They then developed "Stranger Things" with a 20 page pitch book. Cable networks passed; so they enlisted the help of their friend Shawn Levy. Shawn introduced them to Dan Cohen, VP of 21 Laps Entertainment; the foursome went to Netflix and the rest is history. This makes this show even more awesome after I found that out.
Overall if you like the 80's and the paranormal watch this show. These kids will be in the industry for a very long time. In fact Finn Wolfhard (Mike) is in the hit "It!" Trust me this show is amazing even with its second season.