[ CYPHER CODE #676 ]
When storytelling takes a backseat to messaging, audiences feel it immediately.

[ CYPHER CODE #677 ]
Quiet cancellations signal strategy shifts more clearly than public statements.

[ CYPHER CODE #678 ]
When even proven creators lose leverage, the system has stopped rewarding merit.

BRIEFING

Grant here. After nearly a decade, Netflix’s long-standing original series Stranger Things has officially ended, and let’s just say, the reviews are mixed. Many feel that the show lost its plot, literally. The show has strayed from entertainment into political messaging. Of course, we’ve seen this unfold before with so many shows and movies, so it’s not necessarily surprising. But what did come as a bit of a surprise is that Netflix is literally washing their hands of the entire Stranger Things phenomenon. Let’s break it down.

Netflix didn’t make a big announcement, they didn’t issue a press release, and they didn’t explain themselves, but they are quietly walking away from Stranger Things creators the Duffer Brothers. As the series came to a close, the Duffer Brothers’ next major project, an adaptation of The Talisman by Stephen King and Peter Straub, was cancelled by Netflix after years in development.

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While speaking with CBR, Ross shared that, “Sadly, Talisman is no longer at Netflix, so we’re not involved.” Matt admitted, “I think it was probably naive of us to think we could break The Talisman.”

Ross explained that the adaptation has been in development for a long time: “When I interned, when I was really, you know, back in college at Kennedy Marshall, I remember reading, I think it was a movie script for Talisman. So it’s been in development forever, so I’m sorry that we were not the ones to break the curse.” Matt added that “It will be whoever does it and cracks it.”

The adaptation that was announced in 2021 had Stranger Things writer and executive producer Curtis Gwinn serving as The Talisman‘s showrunner and writer. It was also going to be produced by Steven Spielberg’s Amblin Television and Paramount Television Studios.

In the last four years, many changes have occurred within the entertainment industry and for the Duffers. They are executive producers on the animated Stranger Things: Tales from ’85 and a live-action spinoff at Netflix, but they have also since signed a deal to leave the streamer for Paramount. Netflix and Paramount were also locked in a bidding war this year to buy Warner Bros. Discovery, with Netflix emerging victorious.

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Now sure, you can just write this cancellation off as just a consequence of Hollywood being Hollywood. You know, companies shift hands, and contracts shift. But you can’t help but notice that the timing here is pretty curious.

After all, this final season of Stranger Things hasn’t been bringing in audiences like before, and the ratings are steadily declining.

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The trend in question relates to Stranger Things‘ critical score on Rotten Tomatoes. With the release of season 5, Stranger Things‘ Rotten Tomatoes score continues its steady decline, at least among professional critics. The audience scores remain strong, but there is no denying that each season of Stranger Things has been increasingly negatively reviewed by critics.

The first season of Stranger Things received almost perfect reviews across the board, debuting to 97% on Rotten Tomatoes. Stranger Things season 2 followed this up with 94%, before seasons 3 and 4 dropped to 89%. Finally, Stranger Things season 5 was released to a critical rating of 87%, the lowest of the show’s run.

It is worth noting that 87% is still a very good score, meaning almost nine out of every 10 critics gave the new installment of Stranger Things a positive review. Even still, the show’s slight decline is evident, perhaps proving Stranger Things is ending at the perfect time so as not to outstay its welcome.

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With Stranger Things‘ steadily declining Rotten Tomatoes score in mind, it is worth exploring why season 5 has the lowest rating thus far. In Screen Rant‘s own review for Stranger Things season 5, volume 1, the show’s ambition was labeled as a double-edged sword. The scope, scale, and twisting story of Stranger Things season 5 were praised, but this also meant the show felt exceedingly convoluted.

Characters were split apart into smaller groups again, each of them uncovering their own massive secrets about the looming war with the Upside Down, leading Stranger Things season 5’s story to feel more unfocused than usual. Comicbook.com agreed, stating that the pacing suffers from splitting the show’s characters once more, with several of them suffering repetitive arcs.

And then we can’t ignore the big elephant in the room. The scene where character Will Byers gave a five-minute-long sermon on his homosexuality also had a lot of viewers rolling their eyes and also hitting the fast forward button.

For many, it felt like an unnecessarily long scene that was more about pushing a social agenda than actually contributing to the plot itself.

Trust Netflix to do what Netflix does best, push the gay agenda no matter the cost. They've just ruined Stranger Things, what does him being gay have anything to do with actually defeating Vecna pic.twitter.com/TskNvzWRqJ

— 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑺𝒂𝒍𝒕 𝑶𝒇 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑬𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒉 (@Shadaya_Knight) December 26, 2025

DEBRIEFING

All in all, this isn’t really about whether Stranger Things ended well or poorly. It’s about what Netflix chose to do once its most successful original franchise stopped serving as a cultural shield.

For years, Stranger Things gave Netflix leverage. It was proof that the platform could still produce mass-appeal, story-driven entertainment. But as the show drifted toward heavier messaging and increasingly bloated storytelling, it lost so much of the originality that made it special. The show essentially went from something unique to just another CGI-bloated series with “woke” messaging strewn throughout.

And this is where the Talisman cancellation matters.

Netflix didn’t just decline to continue a project; they quietly and almost sneakily disengaged from the very creators who delivered one of their most defining hits. No public fallout. No ideological fight. Just distance.

Again, silence sometimes speaks volumes…

NOW YOU KNOW

When storytelling stops being the priority, even success becomes disposable.