Minor spoilers ahead for Stranger Things Season 3.
Every show has likely made its fair share of on-screen flubs, and Stranger Things is the latest. The show’s third season just came out, and eagle-eyed fans have already spotted a notable error. There is good news! It is not on the level of the infamous coffee cup that made an unfortunate appearance on Game of Thrones’ final season.
Eagle-eyed viewers noticed the continuity error in Stranger Things Season 3, Episode 5. In it, Mike gives Eleven some M&Ms while they are waiting in the hospital. Among the tiny tasty treats is where the error lies. The colorful assortment that Mike gives Eleven includes a red one.
As Stranger Things fans are well-aware, the third season takes place circa 1985. What you may or may not know is that is a period in history where red M&Ms did not exist. At that point, nearly a decade had elapsed since Mars Inc. had discontinued red M&Ms. That happened in 1976. It was not until 1987 that they were restored. Making Mike’s possession of that color treat impossible, unless that hospital really needed to refill its vending machine with fresher treats.
Will Netflix go the way of HBO and turn the red M&Ms orange to correct the error? Time will tell. It is undoubtedly not as urgent as removing the coffee cup that plagued Game of Thrones was. Or that water bottle that popped up in the finale. You have to be really up on your M&M history to be aware of the detail that Stranger Things missed.
Kudos to the fans that noticed the error. It is all in the details! Producing any high-profile show is tricky. Producing one set in the past and keeping track of all of the historical intricacies has to be quite a task. On top of the usual things that pop up, producers have to keep track of that too.
It is not just Stranger Things that has had to deal with set errors. The Orville’s post-producer explained the Fox show does too. In the case of red M&Ms and the Netflix series, this is one of those mistakes that slipped past anybody at the show's notice. The good news is that it is not hurting the show's performance.
It is already breaking records at Netflix, according to the streaming giant. There are arguably also reasons to suspect Stranger Things is planning a Christmas special. That would definitely be a treat for fans! If it happens, hopefully no one will bring out red M&Ms during the festivities.
What does the future of Stranger Things contain? The post-credits sequence for Season 3 held pivotal insight regarding the future of the show. As for whether those characters really got killed off, one star has weighed in on the matter. Another cast member had high praise for her character’s “beautiful” coming out story.
As for the Season 3 finale.... Well, David Harbour called it the “greatest episode” yet. Watch it and see if you agree! Seasons 1-3 of Stranger Things are now streaming on Netflix. Summer will continue being a hot spot for new television offerings. Lots of other TV options will be joining Stranger Things this summer and beyond on Netflix.
