On August 25, 2020, the Glendale, California Americana's parking garage became a packed drive-in movie theater. The feature presentation? The Stranger, Quibi's sharp thriller series starring Maika Monroe, Dane DeHaan, and Avan Jogia. The mobile streaming service teamed up with Collider and Street Food Cinema to put on the event, which featured every episode of the 10-part series screened for the first time without any interruptions, an introduction from creator, writer, director Veena Sud, a post-screening virtual Q&A with Sud and the cast with our very own Perri Nemiroff, and free refreshments from Umami Burger and concessions for all who attended.

Every facet of the event was produced in accordance with COVID-19 safety measures, from contactless entry and food delivery to all pre-screened staff wearing personal protective equipment. While in their cars, guests rocked out to a curated playlist of music from Sud (including, of course, "California Dreaming") and enjoyed the screening safely. Sud herself commented on the unusual-but-engaging circumstances of the screening:

This is the first time I’m seeing it on a big screen like this. The Stranger was made for your small screen, for your phone screen. We’ve strung the entire series together into a feature and each episode is divided by time cards so you’ll see that as you watch. Originally it would drop in your phone every day, consecutive days, for 13 days and 13 episodes.

Sud did note that watching the show, a real-time thriller in which DeHaan terrorizes Monroe throughout all of Los Angeles, under the Los Angeles stars felt particularly appropriate:

The film was inspired by many things, but fittingly for tonight, I want you to know that this is very much a love letter to Los Angeles, to the city that we know and we love but we don’t see on screen that much — from the old abandoned subways hundreds of feet below downtown to speakeasies in Chinatown to the sounds of reggaeton and The Mamas & The Papas in ‘California Dreamin’

Sud also spoke of her optimism for the future of Quibi: "There will be so much more to discover in the Quibi format, this is a radically new way to watch story and to interact with story."

Check out more pictures from the event below. For more on The Stranger, here's a look at how it framed a dope long take.