The Stranger Things phenomenon has swept the world since its launch in 2016, but a solid Netflix replacement may already have one advantage over it. With Stranger Things season 4 reaching its epic conclusion in July 2022, the final season is coming up and should air, according to plan, in 2025. It is sad that the time has finally come to get ready to say goodbye to Stranger Things — it has become known as Netflix’s flagship show for good reason. But its best replacement is promising and should give Stranger Things fans something to fall back on.

After the disturbing end of season 4, Stranger Things season 5 is ready to shake things up one last time. Although the brilliant Sadie Sink played an endangered Max Mayfield to perfection, Millie Bobby Brown’s Eleven was able to engage Vecna in a psychic duel that protected Max. Played by Jamie Campbell Bower, Vecna is due a resurgence in season 5, with Stranger Things’ protagonists unable to defeat him once and for all. Although all this chaos is due to end by the close of the year, Wednesday can fill the gap left by it.

Wednesday Will Be Netflix’s Next Flagship Show After Stranger Things & Squid Game

Netflix Has A Perfect Flagship Show In Wednesday

Wednesday could be Netflix’s Stranger Things replacement in many ways, considering its dark fantasy leanings and high viewership figures. The wildly popular Squid Game could be considered another of Netflix’s flagship shows, but that too will be coming to an end in 2025. Both shows prioritize sci-fi and fantasy over comedy or romance, signaling Netflix’s key demographic, positioning Wednesday as the right series to catch Stranger Things fans as they fall off the bandwagon. Three weeks in, Wednesday became the second most-watched English-language Netflix series in the platform’s history, proving its propensity to replace Stranger Things.

Unlike Stranger Things, Wednesday Should Have No Problem Running For Multiple Seasons

Stranger Things Had A Natural End Date

Wednesday has an advantage over Stranger Things in its episodic nature, gearing it up to run for season after season. Squid Game ends in 2025 but has a perfect follow-up in Wednesday, although its battle royale format won’t trigger exactly the same emotional resonance as the academic fantasy show. But where Stranger Things and Squid Game both fall short in terms of being the lead show of a major streamer is their serialized storytelling, which lends itself to a finite number of episodes and seasons. Neither Stranger Things nor Squid Game should continue past 2025.

Wednesday, meanwhile, has the kind of narrative that could healthily continue for years, with plenty of Addams Family inspirations. In this sense, it seems to have a similar sort of charm to Eric Kripke’s epic Supernatural, America’s longest-running live-action fantasy TV series. Both Wednesday and Supernatural utilize an episodic narrative, whereby each episode brings a new, creative standalone story, meaning the plot doesn’t experience a natural ending. A Stranger Things spinoff likely wouldn’t work as its ending would feel so final. But, luckily, Wednesday will stick around to entertain when Stranger Things can no longer tell its tale.