Netflix’s big mistake with ‘Stranger Things 4’ has nothing to do with how good or bad the season is

On Friday, May 27, a wait that began on July 4, 2019, the release date of the third installment of ‘Stranger Things, comes to an end. Normally, the launch of the fourth season of the series created by the Duffers should simply be a cause for celebration, but when it comes down to it, it will likely end up being overshadowed by ‘Obi-Wan Kenobi’. That for the return of Ewan McGregor to ‘Star Wars’ we have waited much longer.
By now we’re all familiar with Netflix’s launch strategy with its original series: every episode of every season at once. The most has been the exception of dividing a season into two parts, a resource often exploited for its final installments. That gives rise to every two by three they can talk about records with millions of hours played, but what we sometimes forget is the pernicious side of this tactic.
Burning up your ships too fast
For now, many series end up condemned to immediate oblivion. Too many things are released and sometimes we find out before their cancellation than their mere existence. But the most powerful premieres are also affected since its life is shortened among lovers of television series. Ideal for those who want to see it as soon as possible, but detrimental to the real impact of the same on the public.
And it is that then two much more common situations arise than anyone would like: having to see everything right now so that you don’t get any surprises and because only for a few days everything will be talked about with real intensity or end up leaving it aside because you couldn’t see it at the moment, and may even end up getting tired of the specific title without seeing it.

With this, I do not mean that all the series would benefit from a weekly broadcast rhythm, but I do mean that the model of forced marathons does not suit all of them. The case of ‘Stranger Things’ is surely situated between both realities, but a time has come when Netflix needs events to strengthen itself in the face of the position of weakness that it has been experiencing lately.
To this we must add that the episodes of the fourth season of ‘Stranger Things’ are especially long: none of them are less than an hour long and the last one will be the longest of the series. In fact, in total there are 9 episodes for almost 13 hours, something that may have influenced the decision to reserve two episodes for July 1. A timid attempt to start moving away from those marathons that burn many more series than they help in something? Unpublished yes it is.

The (not) blow on the table
However, what he is going to achieve in this way is that the first seven episodes are consumed quickly and in direct competition with ‘Obi-Wan Kenobi’, which will have a new episode the following week and the next until it reaches its end on June 22. ‘Stranger Things will not stop losing strength in all that time, thus unnecessarily losing the status of a great television phenomenon this summer. Yes, then it will premiere two episodes that promise to be tremendous, but whoever hits first hits twice.

In addition, this happens at a time when Netflix cannot afford to be seen as inferior to Disney +. And it is that perhaps dividing it into two parts with such little difference is the first attempt, but here it was necessary to hit the table and make it clear that ‘Stranger Things’ is THE SERIES, and it has not succeeded.