Probably everyone once went onto Buzzfeed and took the quiz to find out whether they were Rachel or Monica or another Friend. The reason being is because for 10 years, Friends established such memorable, relatable, and awesome characters. And this feeling is how I felt after one season of watching one of the best television shows I have ever seen: Stranger Things.

If you are in the minority of not knowing what this fantastic show is, Stranger Things tells the story of the friends and family of Will Byers, as they look for him after his sudden disappearance in 1983 Hawkins, Indiana. As his mother tries to establish communication, his brother and friend try to hunt down a mysterious monster and his closest friends go on an adventure of a lifetime with a young girl named Eleven.

What this show managed to perfectly execute was that for the first time in my life, I thought I was watching one long, amazing movie. The choice for the season to only be eight episodes at an hour a piece was a brilliant decision because it elevated the quality and the show did not feel dragged. When bringing up how it feels like a movie, the production value is at top notch. Not once did I feel like anyone was getting pulled back because it had a TV budget. Lastly, this show could not have had a better home than Netflix because being able to watch all the episodes in one sitting is what made the experience for me even better.

Now, I can not go any further without mentioning what propelled me to sit through this show again and again and that is the uncanny and tremendous performances by the whole ensemble cast. For me, Millie Bobby Brown as Eleven is far and away the stand out. I can not believe this 12 year old actress has not been in anything big up to this point. It just baffles me because she has only 42 lines in the entire eight hours and is able to convey so much with just her eyes. I mean, she shaved her head for the role! And she meshes so well with the other extraordinary kid actors. Finn Wolfhard as Mike Wheeler played normal in such a profound way. Gaten Matarazzo and Caleb McLaughlin also proved themselves to be as good as the greats in Hollywood with their roles that made me believe entirely that they were nerds from the 1980’s. Now onto the older actors who really give the best performance of their careers. Winona Ryder gave a performance that only she could create. David Harbour as the police Chief Hopper was so good, I do not know why I had not heard of him until now. Lastly, everyone else managed to perfectly capture their characters in every moment of screen time, which is why I can not wait to see where the series goes next.

Lastly, I want to discuss the future of entertainment that was unprecedented before this show, but now should become the precedent for the future. The notion to release a TV show like a movie where you can watch the whole season in one sitting, if you have the time, really elevated the experience for me and made me admire the content even more. And as the future of streaming becomes more relevant, I think that the way Stranger Things released their content was great.