The Amazon Prime Video adaptation of the popular comic book series Paper Girls has been compared to Stranger Things, which makes sense since both TV shows about about young characters in the 1980s. Mac Coyle (Sofia Rosinsky), Erin Tieng (Riley Lai Nelet), KJ Brandman (Fina Strazza), and Tiffany Quilkin (Camryn Jones) also ride their bikes around their small town as they work their paper route in the pilot episode. This, of course, is just like how Will Byers (Noah Schnapp) and his friends ride their bikes at the start of the beloved Netflix series.
Both series are also part of the sci-fi genre, which allows each show to tell a beautiful and moving coming-of-age story. The sci-fi elements work well here and are essential to each character's experience of growing up.
While the wonderful characters are what drive Stranger Things and Paper Girls and keep fans coming back, it's hard to imagine either show as a straight drama without any science-fiction elements. Both shows tell perfect coming-of-age stories because there are some magical parts to each world that the main characters have to figure out and work through. This enables each character to find out who they are and look to the future with hope and optimism while learning some hard lessons.
Paper Girls has time travel that adds depth to the overall story. Because the purpose of the story's different narratives is allowing the main characters to see who they become years from now, time travel is essential to coming-of-age for Mac, KJ, Tiffany, and Erin. Tiffany from Paper Girls is a great young adult character because she visits her older self and learns to let go of some beliefs about the future and who she wants to be. All four girls have difficult experiences, but they're the better for them.
The creatures in Stranger Things are one of its most recognizable sci-fi elements, along with the overall mystery in Hawkins, Indiana, the Upside Down, and learning the truth about Vecna (who has amazing practical effects). If Will and his friends lived in a regular town without anything strange happening, it's hard to imagine the characters being able to grow up the way that they do. As the friend group meets Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown), they learn to be more compassionate as they realize that she's different from them and has had a sad, terrifying life. Dustin Henderson (Gaten Matarazzo), Lucas Sinclair (Caleb McLaughlin), Mike Wheeler (Finn Wolfhard), and Will realize that they need to be kind and care about other people, which is key to their growing up process.
The characters in Stranger Things also learn the harsh truth that they need to be strong and help each other as there are many cases when adults aren't going to be there to protect them. From Dr. Martin Brenner/Papa (Matthew Modine) to Dr. Sam Owens (Paul Reiser), many grown-ups in this world are evil who don't blink at eye at hurting children. If there was no evil here to speak of, the kids wouldn't learn this tough and disappointing lesson so early. The members of The Party grow up fast and so do the Paper Girls, but that might help them as they get older.
Many of the best sci-fi TV shows, from Severance to Westworld, focus on adults, and this is still fascinating and entertaining as these series have created intense and compelling worlds to explore. But there's something especially memorable about a sci-fi story that focuses on characters growing up. The young characters are forced to believe in themselves and feel confident, even when faced with creepy demons, weird technology, or the fact that they have found themselves in 2019 and can see who they have become.
The fact that Stranger Things is a sci-fi show also allows it to explore Will's character. Will has a moving season 4 storyline because his feelings for Mike come to the surface and it's clear that he feels distant from his close friend and pain over how much Mike loves Eleven. If Will, Mike, and the others weren't fighting for their lives and trying to stop Vecna and the other monsters, Mike, Will and Eleven's emotions wouldn't feel so heightened. Will realizing his sexuality and falling in love with his best friend would still work if the show was a drama, but since the characters are dealing with danger on a daily basis, they realize that life is short and that makes them feel things strongly.
While Stranger Things and Paper Girls have different approaches to sci-fi, both shows feature characters discovering that they're stronger that they ever thought, and they learn these lesssons early on in life thanks to the dangers that they have to face.