Netflix continues to dominate the streaming world in 2026 with some of the biggest hits on both the movie and TV side of distribution. When it comes to movies, Netflix has had a few colossal streaming hits, including War Machine (starring Alan Ritchson) and Apex (starring Charlize Theron). War Machine even did well enough to earn a spot in the all-time Netflix top 10 list, and the streamer has already confirmed that a sequel to the film, tentatively titled War Machines, is officially in the works. Netflix has also found success with TV shows like His & Hers (starring Jon Bernthal), while other shows like The Boroughs and Ransom Canyon were canceled. Netflix has reached a point now where it releases so many shows so often that it’s almost rarer for a show to extend beyond just a season or two.
One of the few Netflix shows that was given an opportunity to continue well beyond Season 1 was Stranger Things, though the show was originally intended to only be one season. Due to intense demand after the first season of Stranger Things, Netflix enlisted the Duffer brothers to write more seasons of the show, and after almost 10 years, the hit sci-fi series finally came to a close late last year. Netflix wasted no time in bringing back the Stranger Things franchise earlier this year via the animated spin-off, Tales From ‘85, and after receiving a surprise renewal, the show returned for Season 2 last week. We’re less than a full week removed from the Season 2 premiere of Stranger Things: Tales From ‘85, but the show is nowhere to be seen on Netflix watchlists.
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Collider Exclusive · 8 Questions · 2 Minutes Which Netflix Character Would Be Your Best Friend? Dustin · Emily · Wednesday · Gi-hun
Some friends drag you out of the house. Some sit with you on the worst night of your life. Netflix has written both, plus the one who tells you the truth you have been avoiding all week. Answer eight quick questions about how you actually do friendship, and find out which of them was always going to end up in your corner.
🧢Dustin(Stranger Things)
🗼Emily(Emily in Paris)
🕷️Wednesday(Wednesday)
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🟢Gi-hun(Squid Game)
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01
How do you usually end up making a new friend? The origin story says a lot about the friendship that follows it.
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02
What is a perfect Saturday with your best friend? Friendship is mostly built out of very ordinary hours.
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03
You call them at two in the morning. What happens? This is the real test of a friendship, and everybody knows it.
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04
What do you want from them when you are clearly wrong? The best friendships are the ones that survive being corrected.
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05
What do your friends actually value about you? The friend you attract says something about the friend you are.
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06
You have a falling out. How does it go? How a friendship repairs itself matters more than how it breaks.
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07
What do you actually need a best friend for? Everybody is missing something. The right friend fills that gap.
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08
Ten years from now, what keeps the two of you close? Eight questions in, this is the one that decides who you get.
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The Group Chat Has Spoken Your Best Friend Is…
Four Netflix characters, four completely different ways of showing up
for somebody. This is the one who fits how you actually do friendship, and what having them in your
life would be like.
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Stranger Things · Netflix · Since 2016
Dustin Henderson
You do not do friendship at half volume, and neither does he.
What you want is somebody who says yes to the plan before you have finished describing the
plan.
Dustin is the friend the entire show runs on: loyal past the point of sense,
enthusiastic about everything, and incapable of leaving anybody behind.
You have the same instinct. Your friendships are loud, specific and slightly ridiculous,
and they last for decades because of it.
He is also the one person who would take your strangest interest completely seriously,
which is far rarer than it sounds.
You would have a group chat. It would never once be quiet.
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Emily in Paris · Netflix · Since 2020
Emily Cooper
You are the friend who makes things happen, and so is she.
Together you would be mildly exhausting to everyone around you and completely delighted with
yourselves.
Emily treats an ordinary Tuesday as something that could be turned into an occasion,
which is either the best or the worst quality in a friend depending on your energy
levels.
You share her refusal to sit still. Neither of you has ever accepted a night in when
something was happening somewhere else.
She is far more loyal than people give her credit for. She defends her friends loudly,
publicly, and occasionally before checking the facts.
She would post the photo without asking. You would forgive her, because it is a very
good photo.
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Wednesday · Netflix · Since 2022
Wednesday Addams
You have no patience for pleasant lies, and she has no ability to
tell them. What looks like coldness from the outside is the most reliable friendship on this
list.
Wednesday never says a kind thing she does not mean, which makes the rare ones count for
an enormous amount.
You would rather be told the truth than be made comfortable. She is constitutionally
incapable of offering you anything else.
Underneath all of it she is ferociously protective. She simply refuses to make a
performance out of caring.
Do not expect a birthday message. Do expect her to ruin anyone who wrongs you.
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Squid Game · Netflix · 2021–2025
Seong Gi-hun
You look after whoever is having the worst day. So does he. It is
the least strategic way to move through the world and the best possible quality in a friend.
Gi-hun is not the strongest player in Squid Game, or the cleverest. He is the one who
keeps choosing to protect somebody else, over and over, at genuine cost to himself.
You have the same instinct. You notice who is struggling and you stay with them, long
after anybody would blame you for leaving.
He is a flawed friend, and that is part of why it lands. He lets people down, then comes
back and tries again, which is more than most manage.
He would give you his last chance and never once mention that he had done it.
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Why Aren’t People Watching ‘Stranger Things: Tales From ‘85’?
Stranger Things: Tales From ‘85 Season 1 was a massive streaming hit, but Season 2 is struggling to reach the same heights, leaving fans asking: has the Stranger Things franchise lost its appeal? Many fans have found it tough to connect to the cast of Stranger Things: Tales From ‘85 — while it centers around the same characters, none of the stars from the live-action series returned to reprise their roles. Both fans and critics are also growing increasingly bored with the story for Tales From ‘85, and this drop-off in viewership could affect the show’s chances of being renewed for a third season.
Check out both seasons of Stranger Things: Tales From ‘85 on Netflix and stay tuned to Collider for more updates and coverage of the Stranger Things franchise.
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Release Date
April 23, 2026
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Network
Netflix
Showrunner
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Eric Robles
Directors
Phil Allora, JJ Conway, Ben Choi
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Writers
ChatGPT, Dan Milano, Ray Utarnachitt, Jennifer Muro, Chad Quandt, Chris Wyatt, Kevin Burke, Jen Bardekoff, Joshua Pruett
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