Fandom in Stranger Things and Forbrydelsen

Stranger Things has gained a huge fanbase since first airing in July of 2016, from viewership to social media presence to merchandise - the show has it all. You can get stranger things merch in virtually any form, from thousands of websites, and mainstream retailers such as Primark have entire ST ranges with their logo plastered on phone-cases and hoodies alike. Stranger things has its own page(s) on Fandom.com and it's entire layout is Stranger Things themed.

The online presence of Stranger Things is overwhelming, with millions of results showing on google and social media platforms. The stars themselves have gained millions of followers on Instagram and Twitter (such as Millie Bobby Brown who was before virtually unknown and now has 43.2million Instagram followers). Almost everyone in western society has at least heard of Stranger Things if they haven't actually seen it. 

Stranger Things has also inspired countless fan-creations in the form of fan art and fanfiction, where people write and draw their own version of events for the characters, often changing their relationships or placing them in an 'alternate universe' where readers see how the author thinks they would act in different environments. 

Stranger Things has a very varied fanbase, from young teens to older adults. The 80s setting harbours nostalgia for older viewers, and for younger viewers it comes across as retro and vintage. Younger fans tend to be more involved in 'fandom' with buying merch and actively talking about it on social media, but older viewers are more likely to just watch the show and talk about it with their friends. Fandom is a huge part of this series as they don't heavily rely on marketing and adverts, but more so on fan promotion such as word of mouth and merchandise. 

Forbrydelsen has a slightly smaller fanbase than Stranger Things as it has a more mature viewership. The critically acclaimed show first aired in 2007 in Denmark and was soon translated to The Killing in the UK. The Forbrydelsen page on Fndom.com is also themed just as ST is. 

While Forbrydelsen doesn't have the same scale of fandom as ST has, it does have a wide audience. companies such as Nordic Noir Tours provide a Forbrydelsen tour in which fans an see the famous bridge from the show, which is apparently a 'must see' according to some fans. Also, you can buy Sarah Lund's infamous sweater online or download knitting patterns to make it yourself. 

Forbrydelsen relies less on fandom than that of Stranger Things. This is partially due to the fact that when it first aired in 2007, fandom was much less popular and less relied on - social media was not the consuming presence that it is today.