Ross Duffer is begging you to fix your television before watching Stranger Things 5. Not asking. Begging.
The co-creator dropped an Instagram PSA right before Part 1 premiered, and he did not hold back. Turn off super-resolution. Turn off dynamic contrast. Turn off color filter. And for the love of the Upside Down, disable TruMotion and SmoothMotion—what he calls “the biggest offenders” that create “the dreaded soap opera effect.”
His exact words about these features? “Garbage.”
I mean. He’s right.
The Soap Opera Effect Is Real and It’s Bad
Here’s the thing—your fancy TV is probably lying to you. Modern sets ship with motion smoothing enabled by default because it makes demo footage in Best Buy look “sharper.” What it actually does is interpolate frames, creating that hyper-smooth look that makes everything feel like a daytime soap or a behind-the-scenes featurette.
Duffer specifically warned against “vivid” mode: “Whatever you do, do not switch anything on ‘vivid’ because it’s gonna turn on all the worst offenders. It’s gonna destroy the color, and it’s not the filmmaker’s intent.”
My first thought watching his video was okay but how many people actually know where these settings are. Second thought: how many people are watching Stranger Things on a phone anyway and this doesn’t even apply. Third thought: I should probably check my own TV because honestly I set it up three years ago and haven’t touched it since.
The Stakes Are Higher This Time
This isn’t just Duffer being precious about his show. Stranger Things 5 opened with a 91% Popcornmeter score on Rotten Tomatoes from the fans who binged all four episodes the moment they dropped Wednesday at 8 PM ET. That’s the best audience reception since Season 1.
The Game of Thrones comparison is already floating around. Everyone remembers how that ended. The hype was unmatched. The finale was… not. Stranger Things has so far avoided that rabbit hole, but Part 2 arrives Christmas Day and the series finale hits New Year’s Eve—in theaters and on Netflix simultaneously at 8 PM ET.
That’s a lot of runway for things to go wrong. Or very, very right.
Okay But Actually How Do You Fix This
Every TV brand buries these settings differently, which is annoying. Generally:
→ Samsung: Settings > Picture > Expert Settings > Auto Motion Plus (turn it off)
→ LG: Settings > Picture > Picture Mode Settings > TruMotion (off or Cinema Clear)
→ Sony: Settings > Display & Sound > Picture > Motion (select Cinema or Off)
→ Vizio: Menu > Picture > More Picture > Reduce Motion Blur (off)
Or just google your TV model plus “soap opera effect” and someone on Reddit has definitely made a guide. They always have.
The real question is whether most viewers will actually do this or if they’ll just watch on their iPads in bed like normal humans. Probably the second thing. Definitely the second thing.
The Details That Actually Matter Here
- “Garbage” is the official Duffer position — He’s not being diplomatic about TV manufacturer defaults. These settings are actively working against how the show was shot.
- 91% audience score is promising but early — Die-hard fans who binged immediately tend to rate higher. The real test comes as more casual viewers catch up.
- New Year’s Eve theatrical finale is unprecedented — Stranger Things ending in actual movie theaters alongside Netflix streaming is a weird flex but okay.
- Your TV probably has this enabled right now — Unless you specifically turned motion smoothing off, it’s almost certainly on by default.
FAQ
Why do TV manufacturers enable motion smoothing by default if it looks bad?
Because it makes sports look smoother and demo footage in stores look “sharper” to untrained eyes. It’s optimized for selling TVs, not for watching actual films or prestige TV. The assumption is most buyers won’t know the difference—and honestly most don’t until someone like Duffer points it out.
Does the soap opera effect actually ruin Stranger Things or is this overblown?
It genuinely changes how the show looks. Stranger Things is shot with specific frame rates and color grading meant to evoke 80s cinema. Motion smoothing makes it look like a video game cutscene or a telenovela. Whether that “ruins” it depends on your sensitivity, but it’s definitely not what the Duffers intended.
Will casual viewers actually change their TV settings for Stranger Things 5?
Probably not? Most people don’t even know these settings exist, let alone where to find them in their TV’s menu labyrinth. Duffer’s PSA will reach the Film Twitter crowd who already have this stuff disabled. Everyone else will watch on their phones or laptops and none of this will matter.
Anyway I just spent fifteen minutes in my own TV settings menu trying to find Motion Plus and it was buried under three submenus I’ve never opened and now I’m wondering how many movies I’ve watched with this garbage enabled and didn’t even know and honestly that’s a spiral I don’t have time for because Part 2 drops Christmas Day and the finale is literally on New Year’s Eve in theaters which is such a specific flex and I still haven’t processed whether the 91% audience score is going to hold or if we’re about to witness another Game of Thrones situation and—
