‘Stranger Things’ broke Netflix one final time

by Therese Odell, posted in watch this

Welcome to 2026! Here’s a video where I PROMISE you have no idea where it is headed. Stick around, it’s worth it.

@betch

I don’t even know where to start (ig: stapleslick)

♬ original sound – Betch – Betch

Here’s A BUNCH OF TV News

Last night’s drunken CNN New Year’s Eve coverage DID NOT DISAPPOINT:

Stephen Colbert admitted to being a, and I quote, “bossy bottom,” prompting Anderson Cooper to wonder if Heated Rivalry has “made everyone insane.”

Andy Cohen had Anderson Cooper read the lyrics of Taylor Swift’s “Wood,” reducing Anderson Cooper into a giggling mess:

View on Threads

And then, true to form, Andy Cohen became drunk enough by the end of the night that he launched into another rant about a New York mayor. B.J. Novak is clearly alarmed:

View on Threads

I haven’t watched the finale of Stranger Things yet, but I have seen SO MANY SPOILERS IN HEADLINES in the past couple of hours, to which I say: NO. WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU PEOPLE? It hasn’t even been out for 24 hours, you monsters! To any writer who included Stranger Things spoilers in their headline: may you never be surprised in 2026. May every show, movie, and book be spoiled for you for all of 2026.

Anyway. Here, the cast of the series says goodbye to the show that they were a part of for a decade.

I might not have watched the Stranger Things finale last night (was busy finally watching One Battle After Another; do recommend), but enough people did that it crashed Netflix again.

There are spoilers in this piece by the way, but basically, Stranger Things fans would like Netflix to make Stranger Things: The First Shadow, the West End prequel play that debuted in 2023, to be made available on the streamer as it helps explain some crucial parts of the story and final season.

The Duffer Brothers discuss the meaning of that game in the finale.

The AV Club has a list of all the shit things that happened in 2025 — and five undeniably good things, if you’re interested.

MTV shuttered MTV Music, MTV 80s, MTV 90s, Club MTV, and MTV Live in the UK, Ireland, France, Germany, Austria, Poland, Hungary, Australia, and Brazil. Fittingly, the final thing they aired was “Video Killed the Radio Star.”

This season of Fallout features a White Lotus reunion between Walton Goggins and John Gries, and a Righteous Gemstones reunion between Walton Goggins and Macaulley Culkin. I guess the point here is that Walton Goggins is in everything.

Speaking of Fallout, if you’re a Prime member, you can download the games for free for a while.

WHO WOULD REFUSE TO DO A BIT WITH JULIA LOUIS-DREYFUS AND AMY POEHLER? WHO IN THEIR RIGHT MINDS WOULD TURN DOWN THAT OPPORTUNITY?

Conan O’Brien wants Paul Rudd to prank him one last time on his deathbed, and that’s beautiful.

I’m not saying that the reason Chevy Chase hasn’t been on Only Murders is because Steve Martin and Martin Short don’t want him on the show, I’m just saying if they wanted to do a Three Amigos reunion, they could have by now.

Get better soon, Pink. And maybe lay off the acrobatics for a minute. (Honestly, it’s amazing that performers like Pink go all out in their shows, but that kind of effort is what ultimately led to Prince and Michael Jackson to being addicted to painkillers and ultimately what killed them. Take it down a notch.)

In Development

  • The Talisman from The Duffer Brothers is no longer moving forward at Netflix.

Mark Your Calendars

  • Wonder Man debuts on Disney+ on January 27.
  • Will Trent returns on ABC on January 6.
  • Land of Sin debuts on Netflix on February 1.

R.I.P.

Ben Nighthorse Campbell, Former Senator from Colorado

WATCH THIS

THURSDAY

137th Rose Bowl Parade: Lay on your couch and watch the pretty flower floats. 10 a.m., NBC & Peacock

I Am Chevy Chase and You’re Not: Here’s the documentary we can’t shut up about. Since I’ve referenced it so many times around here, I might as well point you in its direction even if I can’t stand the guy. 7 p.m., CNN

The Cult of the Real Housewife: For those of you who are unversed in the world of the Real Housewives, Mary Crosby is a Real Housewife of Salt Lake City, and the head of her own church (cult) that was founded by her grandmother. When her grandmother died, Mary married her grandmother’s husband — her step-grandfather — and took over the church. Some weird shit going on there. Premiere. 7 p.m., TLC

2025 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony: Cy7 p.m., ABC

THUR 7:00 7:30 8:00 8:30 9:00 9:30
ABC 2025 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony
(new)
CBS Georgie and Mandy’s First Marriage
(repeat)		 Ghosts
(repeat)		 Matlock
(repeat)		 Elsbeth
(repeat)
CW Trivial Pursuit
(repeat)		 Trivial Pursuit
(repeat)		 News/Local
FOX Hell’s Kitchen
(new)		 Doc
(repeat)		 News/Local
NBC Law & Order
(repeat)		 Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
(repeat)		 The Hunting Party
(repeat)

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