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WIRE Buzz: Stranger Things 3 flays Netflix records; Jessica Chastain’s 355 counts down; more
Not even a week into its summer residence at Netflix, Stranger Things 3 already is flipping the streaming giant’s all-time viewership records completely upside down. In only four days’ time, the gang’s hugely anticipated hangout at the Starcourt Mall has blown past any original show in Netflix history.
The 1985 school break has taken off faster than a well-aimed rock from Lucas’ slingshot, surging to more than 40 million views overall and more than 18 million complete-season binge watches, according to a jubilant new tweet straight from the source.
The eight-episode third season has lured fans in with a densely-packed, nostalgia-fueled story, serving up new character pairings and converging plot lines as Eleven and friends teeter on the brink of their high school days — as well as a world-threatening supernatural menace, of course.
Viewership numbers like those probably aren’t surprising to anyone who’s been watching every trailer and lapping up every Stranger Things tweet during the show’s 17-month absence. Netflix broke its own YouTube viewing record when the first full Season 3 trailer arrived back in March, and the all-pervading buzz that’s dominated the internet since the show’s return has made surfing the web — even for a split second — a risky proposition for spoiler-averse fans who haven’t yet had a chance to tune in.
With tons of surprises in store for longtime characters and more 1980s Easter eggs than there are ice cream pairings at Scoops Ahoy!, the clock’s ticking on how long you’ll likely be able to put off your Season 3 binge without ruining a surprise or three. Thankfully, the show isn’t going anywhere — even if the kids themselves are finally stalking into uncharted adolescent territory. Catch all eight episodes of Stranger Things 3 now at Netflix.
The countdown has finally begun for 355, the Jessica Chastain-led espionage thriller featuring an A-list female ensemble wielding some sneaky spycraft against a James Bond-style international threat.
Via a fresh Instagram post from 355’s official account, the Simon Kinberg-directed flick has just revealed that principal filming is now underway in Paris. Chastain pitched the idea to Kinberg as the two worked together on Dark Phoenix, and she sounds positively giddy to finally be on location, as she talks over Madonna’s “Hung Up” in this first behind-the-scenes look:
The 355 cast brings a bevy of talent to help realize Chastain’s vision for a female-driven spy tale. Working from a script by Catwoman screenwriter Theresa Rebeck, 355 also features Lupita Nyong’o, Marion Cotillard, Penelope Cruz, and Fan Bingbing.
The movie’s release date is still classified for now, but 355 is expected to hit the big screen sometime before the end of 2020.
Finally, Netflix has just unveiled a cool first look at the cast of Seis Manos, showing off the new animated series’ character art alongside the actors who’ll be bringing the 1970s-era Mexican martial arts drama to life.
Set to lend their voices to Seis Manos are Mike Colter (Luke Cage) as DEA Agent Brister; Danny Trejo (Machete) as drug runner El Balde; Angelica Vale (Jane The Virgin) as greenhorn cop Garcia; Vic Chao (Mortal Kombat X) as kung fu master Chiu; Aislinn Derbez (La Casa de las Flores) as idealistic martial arts warrior Isabela; and Jonny Cruz (Overwatch) as laid-back kung fu fighter Jesus.
Check out Colter and Trejo in Netflix’s new character panels below:
Led by Derbez, Seis Manos follows a trio of orphaned martial arts siblings, who team up with drug enforcers on both sides of the border to exact justice (and good old kung fu revenge) on the corrupt drug runners who murdered their beloved mentor.
Netflix hasn’t yet shared a release date, but the gritty anime is slated to arrive sometime this fall.
