Stranger Things producers asked Game of Thrones for advice on preventing spoilers

Netflix’s supernatural drama/80s pastiche Stranger Things is one of the hottest new shows on the block. It beat out even Game of Thrones at the recent Screen Actors Guild Awards, and its Super Bowl spot racked up over 10 million views in a matter of days.

The second season of the show will premiere on October 31 of this year. There’re a lot more people excited about season 2 than there were about season 1, when the show was an untested quantity. That comes with unique pressures, including fans who will do whatever they can to sniff out advance information about the plot. In other words, Stranger Things is in danger of developing a spoiler problem. And where did the producers turn to solve this problem? Game of Thrones, of course, which has been fighting against piracy and spoilers almost since its inception.

“We literally consulted with the producers on Game of Thrones to learn security protocols,” executive producers Shawn Levy told Entertainment Weekly. “We had no security protocols last season and we have extensive security protocols this season. I can’t speak about what they are because then people could crack them. We protect every story point, every page of every script.”

Despite Levy’s reluctance to get into specifics, a couple of Stranger Things team members shared some insight. “I just knew I used to throw my [daily shooting notes] away and now they have to be burnt,” said co-creator Ryan Duffer. Cast member Millie Bobby Brown (Eleven) is affected by the advanced security, as well. “Now we have a code name [for the show],” she said. “And now I have a code name! It’s this weird thing. On the call sheets our names are across it and if we lose it, we’re dead.”

Some of that does sound similar to what Game of Thrones has done. For example, Kit Harington was given a code while filming Season 6, lest the secret about Jon Snow’s resurrection get out. However, we note that the secret did get out, so these techniques aren’t foolproof. In any case, best of luck to Stranger Things. When it comes to preventing spoilers, you have a tough road ahead of you.

Coincidentally, we talked about whether spoilers have value in this week’s installment of the Small Council. What do you think about it?