Are you prepared for the strangest season yet?
illustration by eliot schlaack
After waiting three years for a new season, Stranger Things fans are anxiously anticipating the fourth, but not final, season; volume 1 will air on May 27, and volume 2 on July 1. This season is set to be the darkest and most intense yet.
Don't read this article if you haven't watched the first three seasons: may contain spoilers.
The very first season of Stranger Things, with eight episodes, was released on Netflix on July 15, 2016. The second season was released shortly after, with 9 episodes, on October 27, 2017. The third season was released on July 4, 2019, with eight episodes.
This new upcoming season of Stranger Things is set to be far different than the rest. Stranger Things 4 was officially announced on September 30, 2019. Unfortunately, due to the pandemic, filming was halted in March 2020, and wasn’t able to start back up again until late September 2020.
The new season is set to be released in two waves, or volumes: the first five episodes are set to be released on Netflix May 27, and the next four are set to be released July 1.
“I’m excited for season four because I think the seasons got better as they went on, so this should be the best season.” Lanie Smith, 10 said.
So why the new split in releasing these episodes? According to Screen Rant, at the end of 2022’s first quarter, Netflix has lost over 200,000 subscribers. Even though general declines in subscribers are a normal occurrence, the net loss is rare. Stranger Things is one of the biggest shows on Netflix, with the last season breaking viewership records in 2019 with 40.7 million member accounts around the world having viewed the show. Fans have been waiting for this new season for almost three years now, generating more hype, so it makes sense that they would want to stagger the episodes to maximize viewers. Netflix can expand their demand for the show, encouraging more people to subscribe.
According to The Wall Street Journal, Stranger Things 4 has a per-episode budget of $30 million. That adds up to a whopping $270 million just on season 4. For reference, the final season of Game of Thrones cost around $15 million an episode, and Disney’s The Mandalorian costs around $25 million an episode, according to Techradar’s Tom Power.
According to Entertainment Weekly, this season is set to be the scariest and darkest yet. Finn Wolfhard, who plays Mike Wheeler, mentioned this during a virtual visit to the Stranger Things set.
“It gets funnier; it gets scarier; it gets more dramatic, and I think that just comes with all of us growing up and getting older,” he said.
“This has definitely been the hardest season I've ever filmed. And there have been some of the scariest, scariest things that I've ever seen as a human, which you guys will get to see, for sure,” Milly Bobby Brown, who plays Eleven, told Entertainment Weekly. Brown also spoke in the virtual visit about how we will get to learn more about Eleven's past. By the end of the third season, Eleven had lost her powers, Billy died, the Byers were moving, and Sheriff Jim Hopper had seemingly died. Season Four picks up with Eleven and Will’s life in their new town. Fans are anxious to see what this new season will bring.
“I think in the upcoming season Steve is going to die because he has already had his redemption arc; he was the bad guy and then he became the good guy,” Lanie said.