Inside KFC's hidden Stranger Things pop-up restaurant
There was an interview with the series creators The Duffer Brothers at Variety the other day that caught my interest as it answered two fairly big questions that I had looming about the show broadly:
Just how connected is the show to the stage show that debuted on The West End and is now on Broadway? All of the business with ‘Henry’/Vecna in the early episodes of this season made me feel like there was a pretty significant connection. Not really, they say:
Matt Duffer: Yeah. When we were working on the play with Kate Trefry, we had Henry’s backstory worked out. There was always a balance that we had to find in terms of how much we were going to put in the play. [The director] Stephen [Daldry] and [the produce] Sonia [Friedman] were always pushing for more and we were pushing back and saying, “Well, we have to wait to reveal that in the show.” You’ll see, especially as you reach the final episode, there’s more overlap with the play.
Ross Duffer: And, like, Max finds that “Oklahoma” poster, which people who haven’t seen the play are maybe like, “Why is Henry in ‘Oklahoma’?” But I think it’s nice for us to start to tie those two together.
Matt Duffer: But you absolutely do not have to have seen the play to understand. They’re Easter eggs more than anything.
I talked about this a bit last week, but I am really not into the idea of these kids being put in mortal danger. So, all of the articles in the lead-up to the final season about which kids might die has just left me feeling pretty uncomfortable. Again, it seems I don’t have a lot to be concerned about here:
Matt Duffer: I’ve said this before: The show is not “Game of Thrones.” I’m hoping it surprises people. But there’s no Red Wedding, if that’s what you’re asking. That would be depressing.
More on Stranger Things Radio:
Last week I talked about the UK radio station WSQK, a pop-up tied to Stranger Things that plays nothing but bangers from the 80s, along with news on the hour and fake ads from Hawkins, Indiana.
I’ve actually been listening to it pretty consistently throughout the weekend and continue to be delighted by it.
Something that I appreciate is that while the music selection is generally just beloved songs from the 80s, notable songs from the series are in heavy rotation. You will hear Kate Bush ‘Running Up That Hill’ A LOT. While that feels slightly like they are pandering… would it not also be likely that the songs played by characters in-show are also songs played in heavy rotation on their local pop music station?
And I got along to the Stranger Things KFC pop-up in Sydney:
On Friday and Saturday, KFC set up a store in a ‘tunnel’ at Wynyard Train Station (hidden in an exit near the Coles supermarket upstairs).
Inside:
The KFC was dressed as Hawkins Fried Chicken and gave away (for free) a meal consisting of either an Upside Down burger (which seemed a bit like the KFC Double Down burger) or an old-school, no-longer-on-the-menu Works burger.
I don’t really eat much KFC and it’s not a coincidence that I lost interest when they cut the Works burger from the menu years ago. So, I was actually pretty excited to see if I enjoyed it as much as I remembered - man, it was pretty tasty.
It was a smart and well-executed activation that raised the bar on what a fast food sponsor for a TV show or movie should be. Compare that to burger joint Grill’d, which was located up the road and just set up a flying broomstick out the front of a store for the new Wicked film.
We probably waited in line around 40 minutes to get in. No regrets. A fun time was had by all.
News Desk
Ahsoka actor Claudia Black, who played Nightsister Klothow in Season 1, has revealed she dropped out of season 2 of the Star Wars show because she wasn’t being paid enough to take care of her financial responsibilities in LA while filming in the UK. Read: Deadline
It’s not confirmed, but there’s talk Apple TV has greenlit a prequel series to its Godzilla spin-off show Monarch: Legacy Monsters. Wyatt Russell is believed to star. Read: Nexus Point News
If there’s a university-educated media professional in Australia who didn’t have at least one text book assigned by Professor Graeme Turner, I’d be surprised. One of Australia’s great media academics, Professor Turner died last week at the age of 78 after a short illness. Read: The Guardian | Australian Academy of the Humanities
UK comic Peter Kay says that he turned down an offer to license his early 00s TV show Phoenix Nights because the streamer wanted to add a trigger warning to it. Read: Deadline
BBC chief content officer Kate Phillips has talked up plans for the BBC to publish more content to YouTube. Read: C21
In no way do I have enough spare time to explore this, but Blippo+ is a video game which is played by channel-surfing through an alien television network from a planet called Planet Blip. Read: The AV Club
Home Improvement star Zachery Ty Bryan has been arrested for violating the terms of his probation. Read: TMZ
34.3 million viewers tuned in to coverage of the 99th annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade across NBC and Peacock. Read: THR
Quote of the Day
Actor Shannon Purser played the iconic Barb in season one of Stranger Things. Barb makes an appearance in season five, but just her corpse. Purser wasn’t required to be on set:
“It’s my body, but it’s not me. I think it’s like the corpse that they made for Season 1. I guess they still have that. It’s so weird just to know that my fake dead body is like hanging around in Atlanta, somewhere.”
Trailer Park
Pro Bono debuts Dec 6 on Netflix.
When a respected judge’s world falls apart overnight, he joins a top law firm’s pro bono team - where hope and purpose wait in humble, unexpected places.
Raat Akeli Hai - The Bansal Murders debuts on Netflix Dec 19.
When members of the Bansal family are found murdered, Inspector Jatil Yadav uncovers a trail of greed, betrayal and secrets tied to a deadly conspiracy.
A Time For Bravery debuts on Netflix Dec 19.
A nervous psychoanalyst is forced to accompany a depressed police officer after his wife’s infidelity. Together they investigate a mysterious murder and become embroiled in a dangerous conspiracy that threatens national security. Memo Villegas and Luis Gerardo Méndez star in The Hour of the Brave.
That’s the newsletter for today.
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