It must be great to be on a surprise hit genre show that was beloved by fans and critics alike and greeted with almost immediate renewal for a second season, right?

According to Stranger Things star Gaten Matarazzo, maybe not always.

Speaking to MTV News at San Diego Comic-Con Friday (July 21), the actor, who plays hilarious sidekick Dustin on the show, said that the first season's smash success has been a mixed bag: Season 2 has a lot to live up to.

"I always make a joke with the other kids, like why couldn't they just make the show okay in the first season?" he joked (starting around 4:07). "Did we have to be really good? Couldn't we just be mediocre and get better?"

The great news is that, in Matarazzo's opinion, that high bar has been met. "They did a really good job," he said. "I haven't seen a final cut, I haven't seen any cut, really, but the script that I've read is really good and what I've shot is a lot of fun."

The second season will be both "scarier" and "darker," according to Matarazzo, and we'll learn a lot more about Dustin as a character.

"As you noticed in Season 1, Dustin is never in a scene where you get to know about him, he is always with the boys. That's going to change in Season 2," he revealed. "You get to learn more about Dustin in his personal life and at home, what he's up to and what he's like when he's not lifting up the boys and when the boys aren't lifting him up."

Stranger Things Season 2 will premiere on Netflix on October 27, 2017.