Stranger Things: how did the cast invade YouTube to promote season 5?
Season 5 of Stranger Things is back after a very long break of over 3 years. Netflix knows this. We’ve all got older (like the cast), our habits have changed, our uses have changed and some of the plot has been forgotten. So the platform orchestrated one of the biggest promotional tours ever for a series, with over 40 interviews, almost all in established media (BuzzFeed, Vanity Fair, BBC Radio 1, TIME, Epicurious…). I didn’t see many independent YouTube creators and also very few non-English media. Powerful results for the media with over 38M views on long videos alone.
This media tour took three forms: junkets in pairs or small groups, studio interviews and big, well-known collective concepts bringing together a large part of the cast. I chose to focus solely on YouTube for easier comparison. Each YouTube video has been broken down into dozens of extracts that have had a life of their own on each of the networks.
I’ve included the raw list of the 48 videos I found at the end of the article. There are probably some missing, but I’ve really dug as deep as I could.
Discover the most viewed videos of the week from 32 European radio stations
Why is this promo important for Netflix?
The series needed to become “top of mind” again before its launch. Season 4 dates back to 2022, and in a landscape saturated with franchises, the platform needs to recall the characters, reactivate the emotions and reconnect the cast with the audience.
YouTube is a natural extension of Netflix
The YouTube Global Culture & Trends 2025 report shows that, in almost every country surveyed, Netflix series dominate Trending Topics. This year we have two big franchises in the top rankings: Squid Game and Demon Hunter. So the Netflix audience is consuming YouTube on a massive scale. On the other hand, media brands are now behaving like genuine creators capable of attracting large audiences. Hence the perfect partnership.
The formats chosen reinforce this dynamic. Classic studio interviews or a junket combined with challenges or atypical situations immediately generate highly viral sequences in Shorts, ensuring cross-platform virality. With forty or so media outlets involved, they ensure worldwide coverage , as Taylor Swift did in September with radio stations.
Netflix is also one of the media
In addition to the promotional material in the form of trailers and behind the scenes footage. Netflix accounts have also produced content with the cast, including a very cool series of four videos on the rewatch of each season of the series. It’s a clever way of retelling the series and getting it back into your head through the react. To reach out to other non-English-speaking markets, they’ve also made another video reacting to the various dubbings.
The storytelling angles behind this promo
If we analyse the 40+ pieces of content published, three themes dominate. Everything is built around emotion, the collective and nostalgia.
1) Nostalgia and the end of an era
Many media outlets insist on “the last time”. The cast look back on their first shoots, their favourite seasons, the things they kept from the set and the way the series made them grow up. The promo deliberately plays on nostalgia, a classic springboard when a franchise reaches its final chapter.
2) Casting together as a marketing argument
Many of the interviews are designed to maximise group dynamics: team quizzes, cross-reactions and challenges. Important to underline that they are a collective and even mates.
4) Decoding for fans (= recaps)
Many interviews rely on their in-depth knowledge of the series to provide the recap part of the series. They’ve done it by answering the most searched questions on Google, finishing off iconic lines or Jimmy Fallon’s one-minute recap rap. It’s a great way to take a look back at history and remember the good times we’ve had with the show.
The 15 most viewed YouTube interviews :
I only take into account views of long videos on YouTube, I don’t count extracts broadcast elsewhere.
1. BuzzFeed Celebs – “Kitten Interview”
3.58M views – The cast plays with kittens, BuzzFeed’s iconic format
2. Vanity Fair – “Hot Seat”
3.42M views – Actors confront awkward questions in Hot Seat.
3. BuzzFeed UK – Reacting to Memes
2.70M views – The cast react to the funniest memes about the series.
4. Epicurious – “Culinary Skills Test
2.40 M views – They test their culinary skills in an absurd challenge.
5. Hot Ones – “Versus / Truth or Dab
2.38 M views – Tell the truth or face an ultra-spicy sauce.
6. TIME – “How Well Do You Know the Cast?”
2.16M views – They test how well they know each other after 5 seasons.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d5R6bJhb9nc
7. Netflix – “Season 4 Rewatch”
1.96M views – Hawkins’ heroes revisit Season 4 together.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Yesg5f42Mc
8. JOLLY – “UK vs US School Lunches
1.85M views – The actors assess British and American school lunches.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qrJX3_6x9v8
9. REACT – “Finish the Line
1.74M views – The cast attempts to complete iconic lines.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=05AWwHRrFyg
10. Tonight Show – “Rap Recap in One Minute”
1.21M views – They recap Stranger Things in one minute with a rap.
11. WIRED – “50 Most Googled Questions
1.15 M views – Actors answer the 50 most Googled questions.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l5Y02Yadz3A
12. Palomares Magic – “Magia al Elenco de Stranger Things!!!“
1.1 M views – A magic trick on the cast
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l5Y02Yadz3A
13. Teen Vogue – “Truth or Dare
1.02 M views – Challenges, ideal dates and quizzes about the series.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JR0xm-nc1Hc
14. BBC Radio 1 – “Pranks, bloopers & stolen props
1.01m views – bloopers, bloopers and stolen props.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2aXOZwaVxDw
15. Vogue – “Rapid-Fire Questions” – Off the cut
758 K views – Millie Bobby Brown and Noah Schnapp throw quick questions at each other.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vnR4sAX-Z0o
I’ll leave you with my sheets and the 50 Stranger Things videos. If any are missing, don’t hesitate to drop me a line!
