Stranger Things is Set to Stay Strange While Things Continue Happening

This Teaser Tells Us Virtually Nothing, Which it Turns Out is Just Enough

One of last year’s most buzzed about new shows, Stranger Things got a long way while expending minimal energy. That’s not to ignore the obvious care and effort that went into crafting the show, from its chilling special effects to the warmth of its characters. But really, Stranger Things served a pretty basic function: to cram all of ’80s nostalgia into a condensed form that could be shit out onto our TVs.

And it worked! It was a legitimately decent show, the chief appeal of which was its fascination with the aesthetics of a bygone (but widely adored) era. There were monsters, kids on bikes, shady government entities, strangers hiding in closets and coming-of-age fodder aplenty. For the love of God, that font might as well come with a “Take On Me” music cue.

Everything was so goddamned ’80s, but in an affectionate way that played on our collective understanding of what that decade means rather than a cynical ploy for easy sentiment. It felt effortless, which is exactly the right tone for a teaser like the one that dropped for Season 2 a few days ago.

Here’s what this 25 second trailer tells us: it’s 1984 now (whiiich…), the kids still have their bikes, we’re still in Hawkins, there’s a storm a-brewing and everything (as assured to us in that same fuckin’ font) is gonna get stranger. That’s it, and really what more do you need to know?

The whole basis of Stranger Things is in its eerie mysteriousness, viewed through the lens of childlike wonderment. To work, it needs to be able to surprise and envelope us within its hybrid world of basic American suburbia with insidious undertones, and we can’t be expecting it. Except, y’know, a premiere date helps: available on Netflix worldwide on October 27th.