Hollywoods

Before the sci-fi series “Stranger Things” premiered on Netflix, several traditional studios had already passed on it. Its creators were first-time show runners, unknown young actors were cast in lead roles, and even though the show starred kids, it was not for children.

That was nine years ago.

The 1980s-set show about a monster that wreaks havoc on fictional Hawkins, Ind., hit a chord with Netflix’s global subscribers. “Stranger Things” has since become one of the streamer’s most culturally significant shows, with its fourth season garnering 140.7 million views in its first three months and ranking third among its top English-language series. It was instrumental in growing new branches of business for Netflix, including live events, a Broadway production and inspired brands eager to partner on licensed merchandise. It became a major franchise for the platform, a chance to build a universe around its central characters and create its own version of “Star Wars.”

Rayna Lynn Chacon, 26, from Los Angeles dresses as Eleven from “Stranger Things” during the Netflix x CicLAvia event.

(Kayla Bartkowski / Los Angeles Times)

The show helped build Netflix’s reputation as a place that makes big bets on original ideas and, if it’s a hit, can build a large fandom for such programs with its worldwide subscriber base.

Netflix took a chance on show runner brothers Matt and Ross Duffer. The pair never imagined the series, which held its first premiere in Silver Lake at Mack Sennett Studios, would take off the way it did.

That wasn’t lost on Matt Duffer, who stood on stage at the final season premiere inside the historic TCL Chinese Theatre in Hollywood earlier this month. It was the same place “Star Wars” premiered in 1977.

“For me, as a nerd, this is a dream come true,” Duffer told the audience.

In an interview, Bela Bajaria, the chief content officer at Netflix, lauded the success of the series: “You could take a bet on an original story, and grow it to a major franchise that has massive global appeal.”

Other Netflix shows, like “House of Cards,” have certainly captured the zeitgeist before, but co-CEO Ted Sarandos said he believes “Stranger Things” stands above some previous hits.

“This was a lot closer to a ‘Star Wars’ moment,” Sarandos said speaking on stage at the “Stranger Things” final season premiere in Hollywood earlier this month. “This is a show, and these are characters that move the culture, that spawned live events and consumer products and spinoffs and sequels … Everything from the first episode of the first season to ‘The First Shadow,’ the Broadway show, the origin story of the Upside Down, it has been and continues to be a remarkable addition to entertainment culture.”

The four past seasons of “Stranger Things” made it into Netflix’s Top 10 this past week, Netflix said. From 2020 to the second quarter of 2025, “Stranger Things” earned more than $1 billion in global streaming revenue for Netflix and was responsible for more than 2 million new subscriber acquisitions, according to estimates from Parrot Analytics, which tracks streaming data. Netflix declined to comment on Parrot’s estimates.

“Every single streaming service needs that anchor series that drives customer acquisition and helps define the original programming,” said Brandon Katz, director of insights and content strategy at Greenlight Analytics, adding for Hulu it was “The Handmaid’s Tale” and for Disney+, “The Mandalorian.” “’Stranger Things’ has undoubtedly been that for Netflix. Every few years that it does air, Netflix knows there is a guaranteed high ceiling of acquisition, retention and viewership power,” Katz said.

Participants bike past a Demogorgon sleigh during the Netflix x CicLAvia event.

(Kayla Bartkowski / Los Angeles Times)

“Stranger Things” also helped Netflix expand into licensed goods, with brands eager to partner with the platform. There are themed Eggo breakfast foods, Lego sets and clothing.

The series “has been a catalyst for Netflix to explore all of the ways in which a single entertainment property can be turned into an entire global lifestyle,” said Robert Thompson, director of the Bleier Center for Television and Popular Culture at Syracuse University.

Its popularity has helped other creative collaborators as well.

Artists whose songs were featured on the show climbed the charts. Kate Bush’s “Running Up That Hill” was featured in Season 4 and reached No. 1 on the Billboard Global 200 and No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100, 37 years after its original release, Netflix said. Metallica’s 1986 song “Master of Puppets” also broke the U.K. Top 30 for the first time after it played during the Season 4 finale, the streamer added.

The series has been recognized with more than 65 awards and 175 nominations. Netflix estimates “Stranger Things” has helped create 8,000 production-related jobs in the U.S. over its five seasons and, since 2015, contributed more than $1.4 billion to U.S. GDP. In California, Netflix estimates the series contributed more than $500 million of GDP.

Netflix is doing a large marketing push with fan events in 28 cities and 21 countries as the series draws to a close. On Sunday, the streamer hosted a bike ride on a stretch of Melrose Avenue in partnership with CicLAvia where 50,000 fans were encouraged to dress in ’80s attire, or as a “Stranger Things” character. On Thursday, a “Stranger Things” float appeared in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade.

The company began a phased release of the final season with four episodes that debuted Wednesday. Another three episodes will land on Christmas Day and a two-hour finale Dec. 31 on Netflix. The finale will also play in more than 350 movie theaters in the U.S. and Canada on Dec. 31 and Jan. 1.

“Stranger Things” fans Kelly Audrain and Jason Serstock said they have been rewatching the show from the beginning to refresh their memories on the whole tale, and were still on Season 2 as of earlier this month. The couple attended the premiere of the last season in Hollywood.

“The whole costuming and everything was so perfect that you just feel like you’re taken back to the ’80s,” 29-year-old Audrain said, who was dressed as “Stranger Things” character Eleven in a pink dress and sporting a mock bloody nose.

Lilia Lupercio, 53, left, Audrey Haluska, 15, center, and Janet Lupercio, 45, right, from Downey pose for a photograph with a “Stranger Things” backdrop.

(Kayla Bartkowski / Los Angeles Times)

Netflix is expanding the show’s universe with the animated series “Stranger Things: Tales from ‘85” next year. In April, Netflix’s “Stranger Things: The First Shadow” stage play hit Broadway. The company has also opened “Stranger Things” pop-up stores, held live experiences and will feature immersive experiences at its Netflix House locations, including “Stranger Things: Escape the Dark” in Dallas. In Las Vegas, Netflix will offer themed foods like Surfer Boy Pizza at its Netflix Bites restaurant.

The Duffers recently told Deadline a spinoff is in the works at Netflix. Bajaria declined to share anything about that but said, “I think the world is really rich and there’s still a lot of story in there.”

But there are challenges ahead. Netflix, seen as the leader in subscription streaming, has had two major flagship series end this year — “Stranger Things” and Korean-language drama “Squid Game.” Analysts say the company will need to keep pumping out popular shows and movies to keep subscribers coming back.

Netflix has successfully expanded its “Squid Game” franchise to include reality competition series “Squid Game: The Challenge,” where more than 95% of watchers also tuned into the scripted series. Other popular franchises like Addams family series “Wednesday,” pirates tale “One Piece” and Regency-era romance “Bridgerton” are ongoing. Netflix’s hit animated movie “KPop Demon Hunters” will get a sequel.

Separately, Netflix placed a bid on parts of Warner Bros. Discovery, with interest in Warner’s Burbank studios and HBO, according to people familiar with the matter. If the acquisition is successful, it would greatly expand Netflix’s library of titles and intellectual property.

While the Duffer brothers still have projects with Netflix, they recently signed a four-year exclusive deal with Paramount for feature films, TV and streaming projects. Some industry observers viewed that as a loss for Netflix.

Omar Chavez, 42, left, and Jenna Chavez, 28, right, from West Hollywood walk past a poster during the Netflix x CicLAvia event.

(Kayla Bartkowski / Los Angeles Times)

“The Duffers are so young, and they’re just really beginning their journey,” said Tom Nunan, a former studio and network executive. “I have no doubt they’ll be pushing out more hits and more of a variety of successes in the future,” he said, adding that the brothers’ work at Paramount could compete with Netflix.

But Bajaria noted that the Duffers still have some projects in the works at Netflix, including sci-fi series “The Boroughs” and horror series “Something Very Bad Is Going to Happen.”

“They’re always gonna be part of the Netflix family and I’m excited we still have more things with them,” Bajaria said.

Times staff writer Meg James contributed to this article.

Diversity has taken a back seat in Hollywood, and Eva Longoria is taking notice.

In a recent interview with British publication the Times, the 50-year-old actor-director-producer spoke out about the lack of Latino representation on screen.

“We’re severely underrepresented in TV and film and it’s getting worse,” said Longoria. “Five years ago we [made up], like, 7% of TV and film and now we’re 4%. It’s actually going in the wrong direction.”

According to UCLA’s 2025 Hollywood Diversity Report, 1% of Latino performers were leading roles in top theatrical films, while 4.3% of Latino directors and 2.1% of Latino writers were involved in last year’s top films.

The report, released in February, found that the proportion of people of color working in entertainment roles dropped in every area from 2023 to 2024 when compared with their white counterparts. Actors of color made up 25.2% of lead roles in the top theatrical films in 2024, which is down from 29.2% in 2023. Also, directors of color accounted for 20.2% of 2024 movies, compared with 22.9% of films from the prior year.

This downward trend has popped up as President Trump has consistently targeted and called to end all diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) efforts. As a result, much of Hollywood has followed his lead. Paramount Global changed its staffing goals related to gender, race, ethnicity and sex; Warner Bros. Discovery restated its DEI activities as “inclusion”; and Walt Disney Co. got rid of its “diversity and inclusion” performance standard used to calculate executive compensation.

“There is definitely a lot of work to be done. I’m trying to do my part,” Longoria told the Times. “That’s one of the main reasons I got behind the camera, to create opportunities for women and for people from my community.”

The “Desperate Housewives” actor made her directorial debut in 2023 with “Flamin’ Hot,” a biographical comedy about Richard Montañez, who says he invented Flamin’ Hot Cheetos.

She’s also currently working on “The Fifth Wheel,” a Netflix comedy starring Kim Kardashian, which she will direct. As for acting, her latest gig is in “Christmas Karma,” a movie musical released earlier this month, where she plays the Ghost of Christmas Past.

FORGET the Oscars, the Met Gala or a Royal wedding.

This weekend saw the VIP event to rule them all, in the form of Kris Jenner’s 70th star-studded black-tie birthday party.

Make no mistake, every celebrity worth their diamonds can gather a gaggle of A-listers, but this event was something different.

The 007-themed bash collected some of the world’s biggest names in business and tech, movies and music for a night of total luxury and couture-costumed backslapping.

Hosted by Amazon boss Jeff Bezos at his and new wife Lauren Sanchez’s Hollywood megamansion, it was proof to the guests — and millions of fans now lapping up every detail they can via Instagram — that Kris Jenner is the unrivalled queen bee.

She is bigger in power and influence than any other fellow guest in attendance, including talk show legend Oprah Winfrey, tech pioneer Bill Gates, multi-platinum singer Mariah Carey, Facebook boss Mark Zuckerberg and Kris’s own daughter, Kim Kardashian.

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And getting on her guestlist is the equivalent of getting a glowing write-up in the Who’s Who of modern-day heavyweights.

Essentially, Kris can make or break you — but if she likes you, you’re really winning.

It’s a truth that was etched proudly across Meghan Markle’s face as she smiled her way into Kris’s exclusive birthday bash.

Flanked by her less enthusiastic husband Prince Harry, Meghan looked like the cat who had got the cream — which, for her, has been a long time coming.

Meghan may have rejected royal life before hightailing it to the US in 2020, but Buckingham Palace is a long way from Beverly Hills — and across the pond, Kris has more influence, cachet and showbiz know-how than any British monarch.

Since stepping down as senior royals, Meghan and Harry have done their best to ingratiate themselves in the up­per echelons of LA, mingling with the likes of Gwyneth Paltrow, Cameron Diaz, Beyonce and actress Kerry Washington.

But they have fallen out with the likes of power couples Victoria and David Beckham and George and Amal Clooney — both of whom have cut them from A-list social functions.

Grandiose pitches

Meanhwile, Meghan apparently pursued her own goal: An actual friendship with Kris, who, as well as holding influence, knows better than most about the art of rebranding.

Let’s remember, her family were once jokingly labelled “the Kartrashians”, known for flogging slimming teas on Instagram and attending the opening of an envelope.

But the joke’s now firmly on all their critics, since they turned themselves into the one of the most lucrative family brands the world has ever seen — one to rival a royal fold.

And it’s Kris who has masterminded the whole thing — a fact immortalised the day she was filmed cooing at Kim, “You’re doing amazing, sweetie!” while her daughter posed nude for a Playboy magazine shoot in 2007.

Back then, she had already launched the entire family on network TV with their own reality series, Keeping Up With The Kardashians, building on the infamy of Kim’s sex tape.

And though the family’s fame in the early days was easily mocked, they’ve since each cemented themselves as aspirational power players in their own right.

Kim and her sister Kylie Jenner are billionaire business moguls with their respective fashion and beauty lines SKIMS and Kylie Cosmetics, while Kendall Jenner is one of the biggest fashion models in the world.

As for Kourtney and Khloe, everything they touch also turns to gold.

Momager Kris still takes ten per cent of her family’s earnings and is well worth the levy, because having a steer and a nod from her is worth its weight in Hollywood opportunities.

Meghan’s long known this, but her efforts so far have mostly been met with muted interest.

Last year, she sent a batch of her home-made jam to Kris, and before that she and her own mum Doria Ragland previously rubbed shoulders with Kris and Kim at various charity dos.

But getting an invite to THE party of the year is the ultimate seal of approval for Meghan, and a sign that her and Harry’s luck might now be changing after all.

So far, they have been slammed by insiders for not following through on lucrative brand deals and mocked for constantly going back on grandiose pitches and promises.

In 2023, Spotify pulled the plug on their $20million audio deal after Meghan produced just 12 episodes of content for her podcast Archetypes, with one exec at the audio streamer labelling them “f***ing grifters”.

And even though Netflix has now produced two series of the universally mocked cookery and lifestyle series With Love, Meghan, it’s been reported that she and Harry are no longer the streaming giant’s golden couple.

Their $100million deal with the streamer has now been downgraded to a “first-look deal” with a reportedly massive pay cut.

In the past week, we revealed how Meghan is returning to acting with a role in the upcoming movie comedy Close Personal Friends.

Having shunned the showier side of showbiz post-royal life, it’s clear she now needs Hollywood’s endorsement more than ever — so getting through the door of Kris’s VIP-packed party is a pretty momentous achievement.

Devotedly loyal

Jeff Bezos’s role as host attests to Kris’ social standing. Not content with putting on their lavish three-day wedding in Venice which was attended by the Kardashian clan, the Amazon boss and his wife Lauren proved there’s nothing they wouldn’t do for their dear friend Kris.

So it only stands to reason that Jeff would be all-ears to any film or TV ideas Meghan might have for his Prime streaming service — provided she has Kris’s seal of approval.

Other heavyweights who donned their gladrags for Kris included Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Microsoft founder Bill Gates, who arrived carrying a perfectly wrapped, rectangular gift (prompting the internet to wonder just what a billionaire brings as a birthday present).

Bill has a lot to thank Kris for, as she recently invested in Phia, an AI shopping start-up co-launched by his daughter Phoebe.

Kris knows what The Godfather taught us long ago: Make sure people owe you enough to remain committed and devotedly loyal.

But the night wasn’t all about business deals, and it’s safe to say that every star who attended the function — many of them dressed in red — had a night to remember.

Maintaining the party’s James Bond theme, Kris brandished a tiny pistol — stressing the point that she’s the one who wields the power.

Dressed in a frilled, hot-red ballgown and dramatic black gloves, the mum-of-six proudly displayed her most expensive purchase — a new facelift, which reportedly cost between $150,000 and $230,000.

She unveiled the results earlier this year, saying, “This is ageing gracefully, my version.”

And she certainly looked delighted with herself on the night, as did her younger actor boyfriend, Corey Gamble, 45, who lovingly followed 70-year-old Kris around all night.

Among the other VIPs attending were Motown legend Stevie Wonder, Oscar nominee Naomi Watts, socialite Paris Hilton, rapper Snoop Dogg, singer Adele and fashion designer Tommy Hilfiger — while hitmaker Bruno Mars performed live.

The night was so eventful that police were called to the premises several times after neighbours complained about loud music.

Cameras were strictly forbidden, but the birthday girl did later post a carousel of photos on Instagram which showed red roses, sweeping scarlet drapery, flowing champagne, 007-themed lighters and poker chips.

It was all accounted for, and Kris was royally venerated like the modern-day monarch she has risen to be.

The rise itself is pretty spectacular, considering her modest beginnings.

Born in San Diego in 1955 to an aircraft manager dad and children’s clothing store owner mum, Kris briefly worked as an air hostess for American Airlines.

Her only “proper” job, she said it made her “see what hard work and great service looked like”.

While married to Hollywood lawyer Robert Kardashian, who represented OJ Simpson during his 1995 murder trial, she became the standard LA wife who knows all the right people and places, but still stands behind her more successful husband.

But after she divorced Robert and married Bruce Jenner, now Caitlyn, she became the former athlete’s manager and turned his faded Olympic career into lucrative brand deals.

Yet it wasn’t until she pitched her family to E! for reality TV glory that she really proved her mettle.

Coining the term momager, she has now leveraged a C-list family to Hollywood royalty.

The Kardashians now run some of the most exclusive rooms in the world — and for Meghan Markle, getting access to them is crucial.

Attending Kris’s party might just be the start of a beautiful friendship.

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And if Meghan really plays her cards right, she’ll finally hear those four words that mean so much: “You’re doing amazing, sweetie.”

In the meantime, Meghan — and the rest of Hollywood — know the drill: Curtsey, kiss the ring, and never say no to a Kris Jenner invitation.