4 most common Stranger Things complaints that don’t matter (and 3 that do)
By Bryce Olin
As one of the biggest shows on TV, Stranger Things has been under the microscope for some time. Every detail about the series is overanalyzed, put through the criticism machine that is the internet, and spit out the other side. Despite being a favorite among fans and critics, Stranger Things has caught its fair share of complaints from viewers
Some of those complaints are valid and deserved, but some of them? They don’t hold water. While we wait for Stranger Things season 5, we put together a list of the seven most common complaints about Stranger Things. Four of those complaints absolutely do not matter, while the other three complaints actually do matter.
Let’s get the list started with the most common complaint you’ll see about Stranger Things. Yes, it’s about how old the actors are, and no, it does not matter one bit.
The Stranger Things cast is getting too old to play teenagers
If I hear another joke about the Stranger Things cast being in college or a nursing home when the next season comes out, I’m going to lose it. One of the main critiques of the series is that the show is not moving fast enough to produce new episodes while its young cast gets older and looks different than they did during season 1.
Why it doesn’t matter: After the writers’ strike ended in the fall of 2023, Variety reported Netflix was prioritizing two shows: Stranger Things and Wednesday. The reason for focusing on Stranger Things, aside from it being one of the biggest shows on TV and one of Netflix’s biggest shows ever, was that the cast are getting older. The direct quote from the piece was that the season needs “to happen before its aging stars can no longer pass for high schoolers.”
Yes, the Stranger Things cast are getting older. We’re all getting older every second. That’s how time works. And, look, I get it. It’s weird watching adults pretend to be kids and care about kid things on TV and in movies, but is it really that big of a deal?
At the time of publishing, here’s how old the younger members of the Stranger Things cast are:
- Millie Bobby Brown: 19 years old
- Finn Wolfhard: 20 years old
- Caleb McLaughlin: 22 years old
- Gaten Matarazzo: 21 years old
- Sadie Sink: 21 years old
- Noah Schnapp: 19 years old
- Priah Ferguson: 17 years old
- Natalia Dyer: 28 years old
- Charlie Heaton: 29 years old
- Joe Keery: 31 years old
- Maya Hawke: 25 years old
That’s not that old for a TV show about teenagers. The Outer Banks cast, who were also high schoolers is recently as season 3, are 23-30 years old. Chase Stokes is 30 years old playing a 17-year-old John B, while Keery is 31 playing a 19 or 20-year-old Steve Harrington. Compared to other teen shows, the Stranger Things cast is relatively young.
Yes, they look different from when the show started, but they started filming the first season of the show in 2015. That was eight years ago!
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