Teenage wasteland in 'Stranger Things 3' - Washington Examiner

For a show with so many fans who never even lived through the 1980s, “Stranger Things” packs a whole lot of nostalgia. The trailer for season three doesn’t disappoint.

The latest installment of the science-fiction-horror Netflix show will take place on Independence Day and begin streaming, appropriately, on July 4. The trailer, which dropped Wednesday, teases new characters, new relationships, and new monsters.

After a comical intro involving self-moving toys and pepper spray, the scene cuts to the “Stranger Things” squad ascending a grassy hill. The Who’s “Baba O’Riley” starts playing, and as the trailer reintroduces you to the young adults you’ve come to love from the first two seasons, the line repeats, “It's only teenage wasteland.”

The young actors are a few years older than they were when “Stranger Things” debuted in 2016. For the show to maintain its popularity, it has to develop the relationships the kids have with each other. Co-creator Matt Duffer said letting the timeline of "Stranger Things" follow the growth of its young actors has helped.

It forces the show to evolve and change, because the kids are changing. Even if we wanted it to be static and we wanted to continually recycle the same storyline — and we don't — we would be unable to, just because the kids are changing.

The show’s biggest strength is its Super 8, Stephen King-esque kid squad. It’s Dustin’s lisp, Mike’s nerdiness, Lucas’ loyalty, Eleven’s intensity, Max’s spunk, and Will’s goodness.

Not all of the show's fans know what it was like to live in the ’80s, but most of them know what it’s like to be a teenager. Focusing on the unique dynamics of youth is the greatest strength of "Stranger Things," and it looks like it’s only growing.

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