Stranger Things was released 10 years ago, and Netflix has amped up the nostalgia quotient of the original series by releasing it in a special VHS recut.
Whatever you might think of the end of Stranger Things, the first season is undeniably great. Back when it was an unheralded, left-field show from out of nowhere, its mix of sci-fi horror and ‘80s nostalgia was something genuinely fresh and interesting. Even through the lens of the bloated mess that it became, that first episode (and the first scene of the kids playing D&D in Mike’s basement) is a belter.
It was an important part of that first wave of shows that many of us watched in 4K, so it makes perfect sense for Netflix to take that pristine picture and do all manner of horrible things to it for a very nostalgic VHS Special Edition release of Season 1.
Netflix released Stranger Things: VHS Special Edition on July 15, 2026, for the show's 10th anniversary. It’s a recut of Season 1 only, styled as a period-accurate VHS rental: 4:3 pan-and-scan with pillarboxed black bars, soft grainy image, and tracking-style glitches, all designed to recreate the experience of watching a tape you'd have pulled off a video store shelf in 1983.
“If Stranger Things existed in Hawkins, sitting on a shelf at Family Video, it would look just like this — complete with pan-and-scan,” say the Duffer Brothers. “And hey, if enough of you nerds watch it, maybe we’ll do the rest of the seasons.”
The Duffer Brothers oversaw the new release and said later seasons could get the same treatment if this one lands well, but we’re not sure the bigger budget later seasons have the same aesthetic vibe to match the degraded visuals. We’re also not sure that, given Netflix’s current troubles, this is the best use of resources for the company. What next? A daguerreotype release of Bridgerton?
Meanwhile those of us who lived through the ‘80s and rather roll our eyes at the rosy-tinted nostalgia for the decade have evidence to show that, in all honesty (and especially when it comes to picture quality), a lot of it was a bit rubbish.