friendly advice

Netflix at Least Had the Courtesy to Break Up a Stranger Things Pop-up Bar With a Bitchin’ Cease and Desist

Photo: Courtesy of Netflix

There’s been a Stranger Things pop-up bar drawing crowds in Chicago’s Logan Square, but after its designated six-week run, Netflix has kindly asked its creators to shut it down. Fortunately, though, they did so with a very on-brand letter that pleasantly remains on the right side of the line between groan-worthy and charming.

“Danny and Doug,

 

My walkie talkie is busted so I had to write this note instead. I heard you launched a Stranger Things pop-up bar at your Logan Square location. Look, I don’t want you to think I’m a total wastoid, and I love how much you guys love the show. (Just wait until you see Season 2!) But unless I’m living in the Upside Down, I don’t think we did a deal with you for this pop-up. You’re obviously creative types, so I’m sure you can appreciate that it’s important to us to have a say in how our fans encounter the worlds we build.

 

We’re not going to go full Dr. Brenner on you, but we ask that you please (1) not extend the pop-up beyond its 6 week run ending in September, and (2) reach out to us for permission if you plan to do something like this again. Let me know as soon as possible that you agree to these requests.

 

We love our fans more than anything, but you should know the Demogorgon is not always as forgiving. So please don’t make us call your mom.”

Stranger Things is so adored it would have been a super bummer if Netflix went straight into the legalese and had absolutely no sense of humor about this well-intentioned infringement on their intellectual property. That said, using the Demogorgon as a playful reference — when it’s a child-eating creature with a face that fully blooms open into a tooth-covered gaping maw — is a savvy, on-brand way of letting Danny and Doug know the Netflix lawyers will rip them into a parallel dimension and suck the life from their bodies. Bar manager Jared Saul took it well, telling DNA Info in an email, “It’s been so much fun for us & for fans of Stranger Things & has even introduced the show to new fans here in Chicago who weren’t aware of the show before visiting the pop-up.”

Chicagoans have until September 30 to go buy unsanctioned “Eleven’s Eggos” cocktails and drink them on a couch under the Will Byers Christmas lights talking wall.

Netflix Sends Bitchin’ Cease & Desist to Stranger Things Bar