The piece discusses the importance of defining eras in multi-season series, using Stranger Things and You as examples, and how those choices contribute to the show's success.
Netflix 's returning crime thriller series cements the end of an era, as the show will never be the same. Netflix 's best TV shows are, most of the time, multi-season series that understand the need for having clearly defined eras.
Take Stranger Things, one of Netflix's biggest shows of all time, as an example. The show's lore kept getting deeper as it went. With every new season, it was clear that viewers were entering completely different eras in the show's run. Stranger Things season 3's summer aesthetic made it completely different from season 4's plunge into darkness, while the arrival of the villain Vecna marked the start of a new era for the show.
Another example comes from one of Netflix's best thriller series. In the psychological thriller You, Penn Badgley's Joe Goldberg goes through clear-cut eras in his life. Some of them include the period before Love Quinn, the time he was with her, the season that saw Joe assume a new identity in England, and so on. These story-defining moments in every narrative require the show to keep re-inventing itself, and if it is successful, great results could come from those choices.
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“Red light, green light. ” 🌀Stranger ThingsThe Upside Down 🎭Squid GamePlayer 456 👑The CrownLong live the Queen 🕸WednesdayNevermore Academy 🌹BridgertonDearest readers PRESS PLAY → QUESTION 1 / 8SQUID GAME 01 Squid Game shattered records on launch in 2021, becoming Netflix’s biggest-ever series debut. Hwang Dong-hyuk’s South Korean thriller centres on a desperate gambler named Seong Gi-hun. What is his player number?
A067 B218 C001 D456 ✓ Correct! Gi-hun is Player 456 — the last number drawn. Kang Sae-byeok is 067, Cho Sang-woo is 218, and the mysterious elderly Oh Il-nam is 001. Squid Game became Netflix’s first show to hit #1 in every country it launched in, amassing over 1.6 billion hours watched in its first month alone.
✗ Eliminated! The answer is 456. Gi-hun’s number is the very last of the 456 players. 067 is Sae-byeok the defector, 218 is Sang-woo the Stanford grad, and 001 is the mysterious old man Oh Il-nam whose identity becomes the series’ biggest reveal. Squid Game became Netflix’s most-watched launch ever, hitting #1 in 94 countries.
NEXT → QUESTION 2 / 8WEDNESDAY 02 The Tim Burton-directed Addams Family spin-off set at Nevermore Academy became Netflix’s second-biggest English-language debut in 2022 and launched a TikTok dance craze. Which young actress plays the deadpan title character? AJenna Ortega BMillie Bobby Brown CSadie Sink DMaya Hawke ✓ Correct! Jenna Ortega — a Disney Channel graduate and indie-horror favourite — took the role Christina Ricci made iconic in the 1990s films and made it entirely her own.
Her now-famous cello-accompanied dance scene became an overnight TikTok phenomenon, and her performance earned Wednesday two Emmy nominations despite airing mid-season. ✗ Eliminated! The answer is Jenna Ortega. Millie Bobby Brown is Eleven on Stranger Things, Sadie Sink plays Max Mayfield , and Maya Hawke plays Robin.
Ortega’s deadpan Wednesday Addams — and her viral cello-dance scene — turned the show into a global phenomenon in late 2022. NEXT → QUESTION 3 / 8DAY ONE 03 In 2013, Netflix released a dark political thriller starring Kevin Spacey as a ruthless congressman breaking the fourth wall. It became the first major streaming original to land a Primetime Emmy nomination and effectively invented prestige streaming TV. Which show was it?
AOrange Is the New Black BHouse of Cards CArrested Development DHemlock Grove ✓ Correct! House of Cards — adapted by Beau Willimon from the 1990 BBC series — became Netflix’s first prestige original and proved a streaming service could go toe-to-toe with HBO. Kevin Spacey’s Frank Underwood and his asides to camera defined early streaming TV. Orange Is the New Black followed months later in July 2013 and became Netflix’s longest-running original at the time.
✗ Eliminated! The answer is House of Cards . Orange Is the New Black launched five months later , Arrested Development’s Netflix revival came in May 2013, and Hemlock Grove was a horror effort the same spring. House of Cards was the flagship — the first streaming original to earn a Primetime Emmy nomination for Outstanding Drama Series.
NEXT → QUESTION 4 / 8THE CROWN 04 Peter Morgan’s The Crown famously recast its entire ensemble every two seasons to age the royal family. After Claire Foy played Queen Elizabeth II in seasons 1-2, which Oscar-winning actress took the crown for seasons 3-4? AImelda Staunton BOlivia Colman CHelena Bonham Carter DGillian Anderson ✓ Correct!
Olivia Colman — fresh off her Best Actress Oscar for The Favourite — played the Queen across seasons 3 and 4, covering the late 1960s through the early Thatcher years. Imelda Staunton took over for seasons 5-6, Helena Bonham Carter played Princess Margaret in seasons 3-4, and Gillian Anderson stole the show as Margaret Thatcher in season 4. ✗ Eliminated! The answer is Olivia Colman.
Imelda Staunton took over for the final two seasons . Helena Bonham Carter played the chain-smoking Princess Margaret during seasons 3-4 alongside Colman. Gillian Anderson delivered an Emmy-winning Margaret Thatcher in season 4. Colman anchored the show’s middle era fresh off her 2019 Oscar win.
NEXT → QUESTION 5 / 8STRANGER THINGS 05 The Duffer Brothers’ 1980s nostalgia juggernaut sees Eleven and the gang battle inter-dimensional horrors from a portal beneath the town’s Hawkins National Laboratory. In which fictional US town and state is the series set? ADerry, Maine BHawkins, Indiana CHill Valley, California DTwin Peaks, Washington ✓ Correct! Hawkins, Indiana — a fictional Midwestern small town that became one of TV’s most iconic settings.
The Duffer Brothers chose Indiana for its unassuming, ordinary-America vibe, making the supernatural chaos feel more jarring. Derry is Stephen King’s It setting, Hill Valley is from Back to the Future, and Twin Peaks is David Lynch’s famous town. ✗ Eliminated! The answer is Hawkins, Indiana.
Derry, Maine is the fictional town from Stephen King’s It. Hill Valley is Marty McFly’s home in Back to the Future. Twin Peaks, Washington is David Lynch’s famous fictional town. Hawkins is The Duffer Brothers’ deliberately ordinary Midwestern setting — the flat, unassuming backdrop that makes Vecna’s horrors hit harder.
NEXT → QUESTION 6 / 8BRIDGERTON 06 Netflix’s Regency romance juggernaut — based on Julia Quinn’s novels and famous for its colour-blind casting, string-quartet pop covers, and narrated gossip column — is produced by which prolific showrunner’s production banner? AShonda Rhimes BRyan Murphy CJulian Fellowes DJenji Kohan ✓ Correct! Shonda Rhimes — the creator of Grey’s Anatomy and Scandal — produces Bridgerton through her Shondaland banner as the first major fruit of her massive 2017 Netflix deal.
Chris Van Dusen created the show, but Shondaland’s signature ensemble-romance DNA is all over it. Julian Fellowes did Downton Abbey, Ryan Murphy did Monster/Dahmer, and Jenji Kohan did Orange Is the New Black. ✗ Eliminated! The answer is Shonda Rhimes .
Ryan Murphy produces true-crime anthologies like Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story. Julian Fellowes is the Downton Abbey/Gilded Age creator — a different period drama entirely. Jenji Kohan is behind Orange Is the New Black and Weeds. Bridgerton was the first big payoff of Rhimes’ nine-figure Netflix deal.
NEXT → QUESTION 7 / 8MONEY HEIST 07 La Casa de Papel became a global phenomenon on Netflix after a modest Spanish TV debut — partly thanks to its gang’s instantly recognisable red jumpsuits paired with a mask of which famous figure? AGuy Fawkes BSalvador Dalí CChe Guevara DPablo Picasso ✓ Correct!
The Salvador Dalí mask — with its upturned moustache — became the show’s defining visual alongside the red jumpsuits, a nod to Spanish artistic rebellion and surrealist individuality. It inspired protest iconography worldwide, from Lebanon to France. The original Antena 3 version underperformed; Netflix acquired it in 2017, re-edited it, and turned it into a global sensation. ✗ Eliminated!
The answer is Salvador Dalí. Guy Fawkes is the V for Vendetta mask that Anonymous adopted. Che Guevara is a common revolutionary image but not the heist crew’s mask. Picasso is a frequent wrong answer given he’s the more globally-known Spanish artist — but the Dalí mask, with its iconic moustache, is the one fused forever with Money Heist’s red jumpsuits.
NEXT → QUESTION 8 / 8THE QUEEN’S GAMBIT 08 Netflix’s 2020 limited series about a Cold War-era chess prodigy named Beth Harmon caused a global surge in chess-set sales and was one of the streamer’s most-watched shows that year. Who played Beth? AFlorence Pugh BAnya Taylor-Joy CSaoirse Ronan DDaisy Edgar-Jones ✓ Correct! Anya Taylor-Joy — already a cult favourite from The Witch and Emma — broke out globally as Beth Harmon, winning the Golden Globe for Best Actress.
The Queen’s Gambit pulled 62 million households in its first 28 days and caused such a chess-boom that Chess.com and retailers ran out of sets. It also made Walter Tevis’s 1983 novel a surprise bestseller almost 40 years later. ✗ Eliminated! The answer is Anya Taylor-Joy.
Florence Pugh , Saoirse Ronan , and Daisy Edgar-Jones are all frequent competitors in similar roles. Taylor-Joy’s Beth Harmon earned her a Golden Globe, a SAG Award, and turned Walter Tevis’s 1983 novel into a sudden bestseller. REVEAL MY SCORE → Credits Rolling · Autoplay On Your Binge-Watcher Rank 🎬 / 8 Platinum subscriber — or still on the free trial?
⤴ PLAY NEXT EPISODE The latest Netflix Original series to go through the end of an era is The Chestnut Man. Finally returning to the streaming service on May 7 after a 5-year hiatus, the gritty crime series' six new episodes changed the show for good. Thanks to one major death, Netflix has declared the end of an era.
The Chestnut Man Can Never Be The Same After Hide And Seek's Major Death Warning: This article contains spoilers from The Chestnut Man: Hide and Seek. Mark Hess and Naia Thulin, The Chestnut Man's main investigators, were the beating heart of the show. Their dynamic and differences are what kept viewers glued to the screen, watching as the duo unraveled well-planned and tragic murders.
However, in season 2, which was titled The Chestnut Man: Hide and Seek, the Netflix series chose to kill Thulin. It is safe to say that this is the end of an era for the show, as season 1 and the first half of season 2 relied heavily on the character and how she contrasted with Hess and made him better. The Chestnut Man stands tall at a rare perfect 100% critics' score on Rotten Tomatoes for both seasons.
Thulin's death could not have been more shocking, as she is killed halfway through The Chestnut Man: Hide and Seek after being shot in the stomach and bleeding out in the middle of the street. The confirmation of the death coming a little later, when Hess finally gets down to the location and slowly reveals her corpse, was both haunting and heartbreaking in equal measure.
Essentially, the show that viewers had signed on for five years ago and patiently waited to return was no more. The fact that Thulin survived the book the season is based on makes matters worse. The Chestnut Man Season 3 Would Have To Start A New Era At the time of writing, there has yet to be confirmation that The Chestnut Man season 3 is in the cards.
That said, if the show is ever to return, then it would have to be through the start of a new era for the Netflix series. After all, The Chestnut Man is a grounded crime thriller series, not a project with magic or supernatural elements that could raise Thulin from the dead. Hess will have to live forever knowing that he could not save the woman he loved, and that comes after his wife passed away in a fire.
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In a possible The Chestnut Man season 3, viewers would have to warm up to a new partner for Hess. Thankfully, season 2 might have already started the job of setting one up, as Sandra Lindstrøm, who worked with Thulin in her new cybersecurity job, would go on to assist Hess after her death.
If the new era for the Netflix series included Hess living with and caring for Le, Thulin's daughter, as was decided at the end of season 2, and working with her former partner, then her memory would be alive in The Chestnut Man season 3. 9.3/10 The Chestnut Man 10 stars 9 stars 8 stars 7 stars 6 stars 5 stars 4 stars 3 stars 2 stars 1 star Like Follow Followed TV-MA Crime Drama Mystery Thriller Release Date September 29, 2021 Network Netflix Directors Kasper Barfoed, Mikkel Serup Writers Dorthe Warnø Høgh, Christoffer Örnfelt, Søren Sveistrup, Mikkel Serup, David Sandreuter 9 Images Close Cast See All Powered by Expand Collapse
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