Netflix has a huge hit with Stranger Things, which took the streaming world by storm back when it first premiered in July 2016. A rabid fanbase has arisen over the past year, and a certain bar in Chicago has been profiting off the craze. A pop-up bar called The Upside Down opened in the Windy City back in August that had all the memorabilia and themed drinks that Stranger Things fans could want out of a night out. Unfortunately for them, Netflix wasn't too happy about the unauthorized pop-up, and the bar got a pretty amazing warning letter, saying this:
My walkie talkie is busted so I had to write this note instead. I heard you launched a Stranger Things pop-up bar at your Logan Square location. Look, I don't want you to think I'm a total wastoid, and I love how much you guys love the show. (Just wait until you see Season 2!) But unless I'm living in the Upside Down, I don't think we did a deal with you for this pop-up. You're obviously creative types, so I'm sure you can appreciate that it's important to us to have a say in how our fans encounter the worlds we build. We're not going to go full Dr. Brenner on you, but we ask that you please (1) not extend the pop-up beyond its 6 week run ending in September, and (2) reach out to us for permission if you plan to do something like this again. Let me know as soon as possible that you agree to these requests. We love our fans more than anything, but you should know that the demogorgon is not always as forgiving. So please don't make us call your mom.
Yes, the senior counsel for Netflix sent a stern (but awesome) warning to brothers Danny and Doug Marks that their Upside Down bar could not be around to stay. The letter (via Scribd) was written in terms that any Stranger Things fan could understand, and surely nobody could think that the writer was a wastoid for the request. At least the Marks brothers don't have to worry that a team of Netflix lawyers will go all demogorgon on them in a legal battle, and their mom need not find out. They definitely won't be waking up wearing hospital gowns in an isolation room a la Eleven, either.
In all seriousness, Netflix is pretty great for not insisting that the Upside Down bar be shut down immediately. The bar opened on August 18, with a stated run date of six weeks that would come to an end on October 1. Netflix simply wanted to be sure that Danny and Doug Marks weren't planning on extending how long their Stranger Things bar remained open. Given how lucrative it likely was, the brothers might have been tempted to at least extend the run until Season 2 premieres at the end of October. Any Chicago fans won't be able to celebrate the new season in their own version of the Upside Down.
Of course, given that Season 2 will be premiering on a Friday, fans might not have been hitting the town over the weekend anyway. Fans may be staying home to binge-watch the new batch of episodes. Season 2 will run for 9 episodes, which is one more than Season 1. While there's certainly plenty of time in a weekend to watch nine hours of television and still venture outdoors to interact with the real world, we may need some time to really absorb all the plot twists. The seriously thrilling trailer indicates that we're in for something special.
For a crash course on what to expect in the new season, check out our breakdown of what we know so far about Stranger Things Season 2. The full season will debut on Friday, October 27 at 12:01 a.m. PT, and our 2017 Netflix premiere schedule can point you toward all the other Netflix streaming dates you could need for the rest of the year.
