Stranger Things spin-off shows could be on the horizon.
In a statement that is likely to leave you with more conspiracy theories than Murray Bauman could ever conjure up, Netflix's co-CEO Ted Sarandos referred to Stranger Things as "a franchise being born" and specifically hinted at spin-offs while speaking to the audience in attendance at Vox Media's Code Conference in Beverly Hills, California earlier this week.
"Franchises are good, but what you want are hits," Sarandos explained at the annual invitation-only event, without offering any further details about what might be in the pipeline. However, Deadline suggests talks have already taken place about Millie Bobby Brown "taking lead in an extension of the Duffer Bros universe under the terms of her own big Netflix deal."
Sarandos also shared viewership data for Netflix's most popular movies and TV shows, including Stranger Things. One metric tracked the number of users that watched at least two minutes of a show or a movie within the first 28 days of release while the other metric measured the total hours spent watching a show or movie within the first 28 days of release.
The data revealed 67 million Netflix subscribers sampled Stranger Things Season 3 during its first month on the service, while it was watched for a whopping 582 million hours total in those first 28 days. In terms of overall viewing time, the series came in just behind Money Heist Part 4 with 619 million hours total and Bridgerton Season 1 with 625 million hours.
Stranger Things has a fourth season on the way next year, and it's understood that the new episodes will be taking a deeper look into Eleven's backstory. We were recently given a sneak peek inside the Creel House, the former residence of Victor Creel — an inmate at Pennhurst Mental Hospital who was incarcerated there for a grisly murder he committed in the 1950s.
The fourth season will apparently be "bigger, bolder, and more intricate" than previous installments, and will have plenty of surprises in store. The next batch of episodes will not, however, represent the final season of Stranger Things as The Duffer Brothers have already stated that they need more time (and more seasons) in order to draw their story to a close.
Adele Ankers is a freelance writer for IGN. Follow her on Twitter.