#cokegate

So everyone’s aware of the “New Coke Theory” right??

Here’s a quick recap:

Stranger Things is “original coke”. Tales of 85 is “new coke” and was released on the same date in history (April 23)

New Coke vs. Classic:

Most people HATED the new flavour (Tales of 85), so July 10th is when they brought back the original loved recipe (Stranger Things)

But yknow what these images led me too??

This event:

July 10th????

AM I READY TO BELIEVE???

FUCK OFFFFF

💀 I promised myself I wouldn't get into date theories, but something kept pulling me back. Short and clear for those who don't like reading long posts. I found confirmation that the season will most likely be released on…

July 11th.

I worked with a theory that my friend sent me, I don't know the original author, sorry.

First, let's dive into the history of the Coca-Cola company. This is important. Why Coca-Cola? The Duffers signed a contract with the company and integrated it into the show as a pop culture reference — New Coke. The contract/partnership was announced on May 21, 2019 (7 freaking years ago). The collaboration took over a year to develop (meaning starting in 2018, why so long?). The idea itself was born at a meeting in 2017 when the Duffers jokingly suggested bringing back New Coke.

The Duffer Brothers figured out how Season 5 would end about 6-7 years ago, meaning in 2018-2019, around the time they were working on this collaboration.

Matt and Ross Duffer in a joint email interview for The New York Times, May 2019:

"It was one of the first ideas in our Season 3 brainstorm. It was the summer of '85, and when you talk about pop culture moments, New Coke was a really big deal. It would have been more bizarre to not include it.

We're not getting a revenue cut from any of this. The hope is that it just gets the show more exposure.

We did tell our production designer to make sure we never saw any Pepsi!"

Now let's move on to the historical part. In 1985, Coca-Cola was under serious pressure in the "cola wars": Pepsi was aggressively pushing its "Pepsi Challenge" ad campaign, where blind taste tests showed consumers preferred Pepsi's sweeter flavor. Coca-Cola's market share was steadily declining, and the company decided on a desperate move. On April 23, 1985, management announced they were replacing original Coca-Cola with "New Coke." This was the first recipe change in 99 years.

The public reaction was immediate and fierce. People saw it as a betrayal of a national icon and a part of their lives. The company's offices received up to 1,500-8,000 calls a day with complaints, and the total number of protest letters exceeded 40,000. Under public pressure, the company had to surrender. Exactly 79 days after New Coke went on sale, on July 11, 1985, Coca-Cola announced the return of the original formula under the name "Coca-Cola Classic."

What does this give us? ABSOLUTELY EVERYTHING: ALL THE ANSWERS AND THE RELEASE DATE.

We all know New Coke appeared repeatedly in Season 3. But by Seasons 4 and 5, we're met with Coca-Cola Classic.

Now let's look at the timeline of events:

April 23, 1985: Announcement that New Coke — a replacement for the original Coca-Cola — was being released.

July 11, 1985: Coca-Cola announced the return of the original Coca-Cola.

July 11, 2016: Premiere of *Stranger Things, Season 1.

January 17, 2026: SNL with the Stranger Things cast. The Coca-Cola Company sponsored the show.

February 2, 2026: The release date for the animated series Stranger Things: Tales from '85 was announced. Coca-Cola OFFICIALLY announced the return of CHERRY COKE — on the exact same day Netflix announced the animated series' release date. + Groundhog Day. "Groundhog Day" as a metaphor — an endless repetition of the same day, impossible to escape without internal change.

February 8, 2026: The Super Bowl. Pepsi aired an ad where a polar bear (Coca-Cola's symbol) chooses Pepsi over Coke.

April 23, 2026: Scheduled release of Stranger Things: Tales from '85 Season 1.

July 11, 2026: Anniversary of the Stranger Things franchise. 10 years. + Day of the Horse. Finn said to pay attention to horses.

Between April 23 and July 11, there are exactly 79 days — how long New Coke lasted on the market. On April 23, the animated series comes out, just like the failed New Coke. THAT MEANS the Duffers understood in advance how lackluster the project would be — logically, like with the cola, they'll have to bring back the original. July 11th. 79 days.

The number 79 appears more than once. February 2 (the animated series release date announcement) and April 23 (the series itself) — there's also a gap of 79 days between those dates.

Two loops of 79 days each — that's pure Groundhog Day.

April 23, 2026 — Animated series (New Coke)

July 11, 2026 — Stranger Things 10th anniversary // the real finale (Coca-Cola Classic)

The head of Coca-Cola later said:

"New Coke angered the public. It cost us a huge amount of money and lasted 79 days before we reintroduced Coca-Cola Classic. Nevertheless, New Coke was a success because it revitalized the brand and drew attention back to Coca-Cola Classic."

On July 14, 2026, the book with the Season 5 script is set to be released — right after July 11th, the day the series celebrates its 10th anniversary.

But that raises another question: What about the second season of the animated series? Its approximate release date is already known — it falls in October-December 2026.

October-December 1985: Coca-Cola Classic dominates unconditionally; New Coke still exists but is seen as a secondary product, a relic of the scandal.

Once again, I made a post on Reddit - and I’m bringing it over here too to invite y’all to #cokegate, lol.

So, the release date of Tales from ’85 does seem weird to me. Why would they choose this date specifically?

And then it hit me: New Coke was released on April 23, 1985.

Here’s the Wiki link, just in case: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Coke

At this point, I have to say - it’s funny how close its discontinuation date is to ST’s 10-year anniversary: July 10 and July 15. Just a coincidence?

But back to the point. I think we all remember the S3 grocery store scene with New Coke, right? If not, here’s the YouTube link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xe3GjCgVUdM

They very deliberately drew our attention to it back then.

Now skipping ahead to S5E8 - in the epilogue rooftop scene, we see a New Coke can again. But the epilogue is set in 1989, four years after New Coke was discontinued - which always seemed weird to me. Unless it was from some old supply, but then again… wouldn’t it be expired by then? Or at least taste bad? 😅

All in all, it feels intentional and out of place. Especially since in S3 they explicitly say that no one likes it (except Lucas, of course).

And before someone says “well actually, it wasn’t discontinued until 2002” - let me stop you right there. I just did a full Coke deepdive (even though it was VERY much not on my 2026 to-do list), and I’m about to un-debunk that.

So. New Coke was released on April 23, 1985 and received massive backlash. After just 79 days, it was renamed. From Wiki:

“The new product continued to be marketed and sold as ‘Coke’ (until 1990, when it was renamed ‘Coke II’), while the original formula was named ‘Coca-Cola Classic,’ and for a short time it was referred to by the public as Old Coke.”

From that point on, they sold both products (Coke and Coca-Cola Classic), just under different names.

For example, in ’86/’87, the New Coke cans looked like this — they just said “Coke,” without the “New” label:

And by 1989 (the year of the epilogue), the cans already looked like this - labeled Coke II:

As you can see, this is NOT the can we see in the epilogue. And that’s what makes it extra weird, because the show creators are famously obsessive about small details and ’80s accuracy.

Add to that:

how much attention they drew to New Coke in S3

and the fact that Tales from ’85 is being released on the exact same date New Coke originally launched

…and suddenly it all feels very intentional. Very “I don’t believe in coincidences” coded.

I’m not trying to do any wild date speculation here, honestly. But if this is intentional… then maybe the 10-year anniversary is actually going to give us something?

i have a few things to say about it that feel important but have no overarching argument lol.

first of all, why put this out now? there doesn’t seem to be a specific point to it (other than a thank you, ig?)

also david harbour’s emphasis on FINAL is interesting…

but mostly i wanna talk about these posters (specifically 2 & 5 but i included all for reference):

first, el’s hands on the season 2 poster are palm side up…just like will.

and remember, noah has specifically discussed his process of figuring out will’s hand motions. he said that he faced his palms up because he wanted to do something different from el since he was siphoning power from vecna while she just uses her own powers.

i also noticed that el’s pose/expression/outfit is very similar in these 2 and 5 posters, except the hands are flipped. she also looks like part of the mindflayer in the season 2 poster? or like she’s using its power to control everyone below her. and with the hands it’s like she’s a puppet master controlling everyone else on little strings. like am i crazy or does she look a lil evil…

then in the 5 poster she is back in control and everyone is gathered around her instead. and instead of evil she looks protective. also will looks like vecna here with that pose and positioning directly in front of him, like el with the mindflayer in the 2 poster. he also has a similar expression as el.

finally, there are TWO season 5 posters in this video. i GUESS it could be vol 1 and vol 2/finale, but why combine those?? or, if it’s just the finale, why are max and holly still in camazots…

It mentions that Cherry Coke played a role in Coco-Cola's success in 1985. Almost every article I can find about Cherry Coke mentions that it was released "around the same time" or "almost simultaneously" with New Coke but no one gives an exact date. Some sources just say 1985 or summer of 1985 or early 1985.

I could only find a specific date on Kiddle and from a Reddit post from six years ago. Even the official Coke website doesn’t mention it.

We know that original Coke was rereleased 79 days after New Coke (on 11th July). But I'm not sure how that lines up with CG because the season 5 book comes out in June.

If Original Coke = Stranger Things and New Coke = Tales from '85, then what could Cherry Coke represent?

Some Bylers have suggested Cherry Coke could be subtext for Byler itself.

I'm thinking we might be getting some sort of clue on the 19th or maybe even noticeable changes to episodes given that the episode copyrights haven't been registered yet.

Metagate is so real.

I believe the count down has begun already. Remember when the WSQK said turn the dial up to 11 and we know that a dial can represent a clock. Also, the last episode of Tales from 85 that is called the Countdown well from April 23 to July 11 is about 11 weeks and 2 days. The last week is about 9 days (the week is long). We're counting down from 11 not 10!!!! Something significant will occur during the 10-year anniversary #I believe.

Also, Enola Holmes will release July 1st. That is also a countdown because then it will be 11 days till the anniversary!!!!!!!

They counted down eleven weeks for season 4!!!

"Seconds. Minutes. Hours. Days. Weeks. Months. Years. Decades. Each life a faded, lesser copy of the one before. Wake up, eat, work, sleep, reproduce, and die. Everyone is just waiting. Waiting for it all to be over." Henry Creel