This just in: The STW Daily News Round Up featuring all the streaming news that’s (digitally) fit to print for Saturday, July 2nd, 2022. Stranger Things 4 Part 2 broke the internet?
Disruptor? Netflix Broke the Internet with Stranger Things 4 Part 2
Netflix dropped the conclusion of Season 4 of Stranger Things Thursday night June 30th at midnight PST. Despite it being the witching hour, so many subscribers tried to access the new episodes upon release that Netflix itself fell into a gate into the Upside Down, crashing into the 404 abyss of the Internet, briefly at least.
According to Variety, Downdetector.com–a site that reports major site outages based on user reports of connection issues–documented reports of problems with Netflix at around 3 A.M. EST, pretty much the moment Stranger Things 4 Volume 2 went live. There were nearly 13,000 complaints at the time, though it appears that Netflix closed the gate into the Hellscape and sorted things out within about a half an hour.
The late night clamoring for Stranger Things 4 doesn’t come as much of a surprise, given how popular the nostalgia-filled sci-fi romp is globally. This season of Stranger Things has already taken the title of the “Number One English Language Series of All Time” on the streaming service, according to self-reported Netflix data.
And Stranger Things 4 chart-topping world domination extends beyond late-night bingeing. The inclusion of Kate Bush’s ‘80s otherworldly hit “Running Up That Hill” shot the reclusive musician to the top of the charts, giving Bush her first Number One single in the UK and her first Top 10 single in the US, and setting three Guinness world records in the process.
On the heels of which Spotify released a popular new feature earlier this week that allows users to create their own “Upside Down” playlists. The feature lets users create a playlist of songs mostly likely to save them from Vecna’s hypnotic hold.
And with Season 4 finally said and done, ardent fans will now have to wait Vecna knows how long for Season 5, what is to be the final season. After enduring notoriously long gaps between season release dates, here’s hoping the Duffer brothers can get up that hill some time before Millie Bobby Brown and the gang hit retirement age.
Apple’s Godzilla Series Rounds Out Its Cast
Early this year, Apple TV+ announced plans for a drama series spinoff of Legendary’s MonsterVerse movies, aka the recent class of Godzilla films that culminated with last year’s pleasing Godzilla Vs. Kong.
The series seeks to expand upon the narrative started by Gareth Edwards’ 2014 Godzilla reboot which was then followed up by 2019’s Godzilla: King of the Monsters and the well-received Godzilla Vs. Kong.
The Apple series will take a more personal look into the events of the Godzilla universe, centering around “one family’s journey to uncover its buried secrets and a legacy linking them to the secret organization known as Monarch.”
The series is being developed by screenwriter Chris Black (Outcast) and veteran comics writer Matt Fraction, whose work on Hawkeye had a heavy influence on the Disney+ show.
This week, Apple TV+ made some casting announcements as the show ramps up toward production.
Pachinko’s Anna Sawai will play Cate, “a former teacher and a G-Day survivor who uncovers a family secret in Japan.”
Ren Watabe from 461 Days Of Bento will play Kentaro, “an intelligent, creative, and curious young man who has yet to find his own path.”
Kiersey Clemons (Zack Snyder’s Justice League) will play May, “an American ex-pat with a roguish exterior that she she uses to protect herself as well as others.”
Joe Tippett from Mare Of Easttown will portray Tim, “an office drone who dreams of secret agent adventure.”
Elisa Lasowski from Versailles will play Duvall, “an expert operative with unwavering confidence in herself and her skills.”
As the untitled project is still in pre-production, no word yet on when it will hit Apple TV+.