Netflix's Upcoming Sci-Fi Reboot Is Almost The Perfect Stranger Things Replacement

The news that Netflix almost had a perfect replacement for Stranger Things makes the fate of this upcoming ‘80s franchise reboot frustrating, despite its promise. It is fair to say that few readers could have predicted how massive Netflix’s Stranger Things franchise would eventually become when the original show started almost ten years ago. An unusual blend of teen drama, small-town mystery, and sci-fi, Stranger Things was a truly original streaming series.

What began life as a nostalgic throwback to ‘80s pop culture from Stephen King to Steven Spielberg gradually ballooned to become a sprawling media franchise with tie-in novels, comics, and even an animated spinoff series. Compared to Netflix’s similarly nostalgic Karate Kid spinoff Cobra Kai, Stranger Things was not just a hit show but a genuine worldwide phenomenon. Of course, the streaming service soon got to work trying to replicate its success.

While shows like Tim Burton’s Addams Family reboot Wednesday or the massive manga adaptation One Piece were similarly huge hits, these came with a much bigger marketing push and a lot more pre-release hype. It is rare for any series to truly recapture the unique appeal of Stranger Things, but the announcement of Netflix’s spinoff series, Ghostbusters: Night Shift, seemed like the perfect candidate until one element of its formula was revealed.

Netflix's Ghostbusters: Night Shift Had The Ingredients Of A Perfect Stranger Things Replacement

Ghostbusters: Night Shift brings back Jason Reitman and Gil Kenan, the director and writer of the live-action Ghostbusters reboot movies Afterlife and Frozen Empire, for a Netflix series that aims to expand the world of the franchise. Since those earlier blockbusters starred Stranger Things leading man Finn Wolfhard and were both nostalgic blends of horror, character comedy, and mystery plotting, Ghostbusters: Night Shift initially seemed like an ideal replacement for the hit series.

However, the revelation that Ghostbusters: Night Shift will be an animated show, rather than the franchise’s first small-screen live-action series, limits its ability to act as a Stranger Things replacement. Interestingly enough, another star of Ghostbusters: Afterlife and Frozen Empire, McKenna Grace, is set to star in Netflix’s live-action Scooby-Doo: Origins, which is now shaping up to be a better substitute for Stranger Things than Ghostbusters: Night Shift.

Ghostbusters: Night Shift's Animated Format Limits Its Potential As A Stranger Things Replacement

Between Cobra Kai and SyFy’s Chucky, earlier live-action reboot shows of nostalgic ‘80s franchises have fared great on the small screen. In contrast, an animated take on the Ghostbusters franchise is likely to limit its audience. While Ghostbusters: Night Shift may well recreate the appeal of the cult classic cartoon show The Real Ghostbusters, viewers have already learned that Stranger Things can’t be replaced by an animated effort.

The first Stranger Things spinoff, Tales from ’85, also switched a sci-fi horror adventure franchise's format from live-action to animation and suffered critically as a result. Cutting the darker horror elements of Stranger Things to garner a younger audience, Tales from ’85 was viewed as too sanitized by many fans and critics online, earning only 62% from critics on Rotten Tomatoes and an even worse 53% from audience members. Ghostbusters: Night Shift may not necessarily suffer the same fate, but it remains a wasted opportunity.

In the era of nostalgic kids' media reboots like HBO’s Harry Potter series or Netflix’s own Scooby-Do: Origins, the decision to make Ghostbusters: Night Shift an animated show is going to guarantee the new show a smaller, more niche audience than a continuation of the live-action movies could have earned. This is fine for the franchise as a whole, but it means that anyone hoping to make Ghostbusters: Night Life into Netflix’s ideal Stranger Things replacement will need to continue searching for the show’s perfect substitute among the streaming service’s upcoming offerings.