Forget ‘Stranger Things,’ Netflix’s Sci-Fi Masterpiece Is Still TV’s Greatest

Published Nov 8, 2026, 7:58 AM EST

Liam Gaughan is a film and TV writer at Collider. He has been writing film reviews and news coverage for ten years. Between relentlessly adding new titles to his watchlist and attending as many screenings as he can, Liam is always watching new movies and television shows. 

In addition to reviewing, writing, and commentating on both new and old releases, Liam has interviewed talent such as Mark Wahlberg, Jesse Plemons, Sam Mendes, Billy Eichner, Dylan O'Brien, Luke Wilson, and B.J. Novak. Liam aims to get his spec scripts produced and currently writes short films and stage plays. He lives in Allentown, PA.

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The success of Stranger Things has been credited to many things, such as the popularity of ‘80s nostalgia and the emergence of Netflix as a platform for genre storytelling, but one of the show’s greatest strengths was in how well it handled its mythological components with a very relatable coming-of-age story. While it became harder to buy into the grounded story of adolescence as Stranger Things continued because of how inconsistent the stakes were, it did reflect a genuine desire to see an exploration of growing up that didn’t treat itself as pure escapism. I Am Not Okay With This is an adaptation of the popular graphic novel of the same name by Charles Forsman, who also wrote The End of the F***ing World, which was also made into a Netflix series. While The End of the F***ing World went beyond the source material for an unnecessary Season 2, I Am Not Okay With This was primed to get deeper and darker when it was cancelled before its time.

One of the direct indications of the success of Stranger Things was the blockbuster performance of It. While the original It novel was obviously a massive inspiration for Stranger Things’ conception of small-town supernatural adventures involving kids on bikes, the film adaptation clearly saw the success of the streaming series as a sign that it could do a ‘80s-set reimagining of the source material. Two of the biggest breakout stars of It were Sophia Lillis and Wyatt Oleff, who were given lead roles in I Am Not Okay With This, where they were able to bring a similar amount of complexity to their roles of deeply disturbed adolescents growing up in a frustrated community. I Am Not Okay With This uses its psychokinetic elements as a tool to explore growing up, both as a sign of body development and of reckoning with the reality that the world is not an inherently safe place.

‘I Am Not Okay With This’ Is a Mature Supernatural Coming-of-Age Story

Lillis stars in the series as Sydney Novak, a 17-year-old in a small town who has essentially had to take over a number of household duties after the suicide of her father, which her mother Maggie (Kathleen Rose Perkins) has refused to talk about. The theme of being withholding is critical to I Am Not Okay With This, as it deals with the idea of arrested development resulting from being denied the opportunity to discuss adult issues. Although Syd can tell that her mother is in pain, she does not have anyone else to talk to about her grief, and is left to cope with feelings of guilt that no one is there to mollify. This is an essential component to her character arc because Syd has to feel as if her emotions are not valid, which causes her to hide her discovery of psychokinetic powers when they begin to develop. It is key that Syd only discovers that she has these powers in moments of strong emotion, which only crystallizes her perception that her natural development is in some way unnatural.

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Would You Survive? 8 questions · 5 worlds · one honest verdict

Five of the great screen futures, and not one of them is built for comfort. Answer eight questions about instinct, loyalty and the line you would cross, and the scan will tell you which one you would still be standing in. Worlds in range

▦︎The Matrix

◈︎Mad Max

◑︎Blade Runner

▲︎Dune

✦︎Star Wars

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Question 01 of 08INSTINCT

The world as you know it ends overnight. What is your first move? No wrong answer. There is a wrong hesitation.

AFind out what is really going on behind all of it BGrab a vehicle and as much fuel as you can carry CKeep your head down and show up to work anyway DLearn the rules of whoever is in charge now EFind other people and start organizing

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Question 02 of 08RESOURCE

You can stockpile exactly one thing. What is it? Choose carefully. You are not getting a second run.

AInformation nobody else has BFuel CClean money and cleaner documents DWater EA ship that can get you off-world

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Question 03 of 08THREAT

Which kind of enemy scares you the most? Be honest about what keeps you up.

AOne that can be anywhere, wearing anyone's face BA convoy of people who want what you are carrying CSomeone who looks exactly like you DA rival family that has been planning your downfall for generations EAn empire with unlimited resources and no patience

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Question 04 of 08AUTHORITY

How do you handle the people in charge? Every world has them. Even the ones that pretend otherwise.

AAssume they are lying and work around them BNobody is in charge where I am CFollow the orders, file the report, stay invisible DStudy them, get close to them, outlast them EJoin whoever is fighting them

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Question 05 of 08ENVIRONMENT

Pick the place you would rather wake up in: You will be there a while.

AA grey city that feels slightly too perfect BAn endless desert highway CA rainy neon street at three in the morning DA dune sea with a fortress on the horizon EA crowded spaceport full of strangers

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Question 06 of 08ALLIANCE

Who do you want standing next to you? Pick one. You only get one.

AA guide who knows far more than they are telling you BOne person you trust and nobody else CNobody. You work alone DA loyal circle you grew up with EA crew of misfits who argue the whole way

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Question 07 of 08MORALITY

Which line would you cross to survive? Everybody crosses one.

ALying to the people closest to you BTaking what you need by force CLooking the other way DPlaying a long game that costs other people dearly EBlowing something very expensive up

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Question 08 of 08PURPOSE

What are you really fighting for? Last question. Make it count.

AThe truth, whatever it turns out to be BTomorrow. Just tomorrow CSomething that finally feels like a real life DYour family's name EEveryone who cannot fight for themselves

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▦︎ The Matrix The Resistance, Zion You take the red pill, you stay in Wonderland, and I show you how deep the rabbit hole goes.

You would survive The Matrix because you were never fully sold on the version of reality you were handed. You notice the seams. You ask the second question. In a world built to keep people comfortable and incurious, that instinct is the whole fight, and it is why Morpheus would have found you long before you found him. From the Collider file

• The Wachowskis' 1999 film won four Academy Awards, including Visual Effects and Film Editing.
• Bullet time was shot with a rig of roughly 120 still cameras firing in sequence around the actors.
• Keanu Reeves trained in martial arts for about four months before a frame was shot, recovering from neck surgery the whole time.
• It opened the same year as Fight Club and eXistenZ, in a run of films about not trusting the world in front of you.

Red pill energy Pattern spotter Built to question

◈︎ Mad Max The Wasteland Oh, what a day. What a lovely day.

You would survive the Wasteland because you do not waste energy mourning the world that ended. You move, you improvise, and you are very good with whatever is bolted to the thing in front of you. Furiosa would let you drive. That is not a compliment anybody earns easily. From the Collider file

• Mad Max: Fury Road won six Academy Awards in 2016, more than any other film that year.
• George Miller storyboarded the entire film as roughly 3,500 panels before there was a script.
• The chase was shot almost entirely practical in the Namib Desert, with real vehicles and real stunt performers.
• Anya Taylor-Joy and Chris Hemsworth carried the prequel, Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, in 2024.

Keeps moving Improviser Good with engines

◑︎ Blade Runner Los Angeles, 2049 All those moments will be lost in time, like tears in rain.

You would survive 2049 because you know how to be small in a very loud city. You keep your head down, you do the job, and you hold onto one private thing that belongs only to you. That quiet stubbornness is exactly what both Deckard and K run on, and it is what keeps either of them going when the case stops making sense. From the Collider file

• Blade Runner 2049 won Roger Deakins his first Oscar for cinematography, on his fourteenth nomination.
• The film also took Best Visual Effects, 35 years after Ridley Scott's 1982 original.
• Villeneuve shot it on large-format film and kept the fog and rain practical on set wherever he could.
• Three short films by Luke Scott and Shinichiro Watanabe bridge the 30-year gap between the two movies.

Keeps her head down Private Noir soul

▲︎ Dune Arrakis Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration.

You would survive Arrakis because you think in decades while everyone around you thinks in weeks. You read the room, you learn the customs, you wait. The desert does not reward speed. It rewards people who understand that patience is a weapon, which is the one lesson the Fremen never had to be taught. From the Collider file

• Denis Villeneuve's Dune won six Academy Awards in 2022, including Cinematography and Original Score.
• Hans Zimmer turned down Christopher Nolan's Tenet so he could score Dune instead.
• Dune: Part Two arrived in 2024 and brought in Austin Butler, Florence Pugh and Christopher Walken.
• David Lynch's 1984 version and Alejandro Jodorowsky's unmade one are both their own legends by now.

Plays the long game Reads the room Patient

✦︎ Star Wars A Galaxy Far, Far Away Rebellions are built on hope.

You would survive the galaxy because you never try to survive it alone. You collect people. You end up in the middle of other folks' problems and you stay anyway. Every version of this story, from the Falcon's crew to the Ghost's, runs on somebody exactly like that holding the group together. From the Collider file

• The 1977 original won six Academy Awards plus a special achievement award for sound effects.
• John Williams' score was recorded by the London Symphony Orchestra and became the best-selling symphonic film soundtrack ever.
• Andor took the galaxy somewhere colder and earned Emmy nominations for drama series in both seasons.
• The saga now runs across eleven feature films and a growing shelf of series on Disney+.

Collects people Shows up Hope merchant

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Lillis is phenomenal in the series and shows a truly accurate portrayal of the paranoia and anxiety that comes with being young, but I Am Not Okay With This fleshes out an ensemble of young characters who don’t just feel like classical archetypes. Oleff brings a lot of necessary humor to the role of Stan, but his dynamic with Syd is one of complexity, the likes of which aren’t usually seen on young adult shows; although Stan learns that Syd does not share the romantic feelings he has for her, he remains an important part of her friend circle as she develops a closer bond with her crush, Dina (Sofia Bryant). Although having hostile, nearly psychopathic bullies is a core part of any story like this (it is certainly present in both Stranger Things and It), I Am Not Okay With This shows the way that class resentment plays a part in adolescent dynamics, as Syd is made to feel “lesser” when compared to the wealthier jocks that attend her school.

‘I Am Not Okay With This’ Deserved a Season 2

I Am Not Okay With This is a self-contained coming-of-age story that culminates with Syd reaching a point of self-actualization, but the first season ended on an intriguing cliffhanger that set the stage for a further exploration into the material that Forsman laid out in the comics. The first season is so intimate and specific in showing how Syd copes with powers under very specific circumstances that it would be exciting to see a different perspective on someone from a unique background. There is also a theme of public gaslighting and shame that is hinted at, but could be further explored in a Season 2; this isn’t just the result of how Syd was forced to defend herself, but also because of the culmination of her relationship with Dina.

I Am Not Okay With This had the misfortune of being released at the exact wrong time, as the show debuted a month before the COVID-19 pandemic, which preemptively doomed many new programs that had hoped to ramp up production soon. A timely turnaround for I Am Not Okay With This was of importance because of the age of the cast, and such emotionally gripping material might have made for a tough watch during a time in which audiences were anxious enough. Nonetheless, I Am Not Okay With This is one of Netflix’s greatest “what ifs?”, and is deserving of a reclamation, even if it didn’t get the ending that it deserved.