According to information released by Netflix on Tuesday, July 5, the most recent season of Stranger Things has seen more than 1.15 billion hours of viewing.
The most watched English-language Netflix series is the science fiction drama starring . Only one other Netflix program, the South Korean drama Squid Game, has surpassed 1 billion viewing hours.
The show's darkest season has always been touted whenever Stranger Things returns to Netflix, but never more so than for its forthcoming fourth season, which will debut on May 27.
"I always comment, 'It's so more darker, it's so much bigger,' when we do this press each season. In a roundtable discussion with the media, Noah Schnapp, who plays Will Byers, said, "It's like the quintessential thing you say with Stranger Things.
But as I watched this season, I was afraid of some of the scenes. Thus, he continued, "It's definitely darker and scarier.
The number of deaths in Stranger Things 4 is startling right away. On May 20, Netflix published the first eight minutes of the season, which feature a gory incident that occurs at the Hawkins National Laboratories.
A new supernatural menace that sets the stage for additional Duffer Brothers allusions to vintage horror movies like Carrie and The Exorcist means that viewers don't have to wait very long in the season to see the death toll grow.
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Joe Keery as Steve Harrington, Maya Hawke as Robin Buckley, Sadie Sink as Max Mayfield, and Gaten Matarazzo as Dustin Henderson appear in season four of the Netflix hit.[/caption]
In addition to paranormal creatures, the Stranger Things kids are starting high school, which is a completely different dread, while still suffering from flashbacks to season 3's horrific confrontation at Starcourt Mall.
Max (Sadie Sink), who witnessed her stepbrother Billy's death, is battling depression, and Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown), who lost her adoptive father Hopper, are both struggling with similar loss and the lack of support from those around them.
The gang is splitting up, which makes things even more difficult. Will and Eleven move across the country with Will's mother Joyce (Winona Ryder) and brother Jonathan (Charlie Heaton), while Mike (Finn Wolfhard), Dustin (Gaten Matarazzo), and Lucas (Caleb McLaughlin) stay in Hawkins but become estranged due to different interests.
We're beginning high school, and a significant portion of our friend circle is missing. We obviously miss them a lot. For us, this is a really transitional period. In addition to coping with everyday issues like adjusting to a new social environment, we are also finding it difficult to process everything that has happened over the previous six months, Gaten stated at a press conference.
Behind-the-scenes, the cast was happy to be able to collaborate with one another once more after the COVID-19 outbreak put production on hold for months. This is despite how gloomy the plot has gotten.
The actress Natalia Dyer, who portrays Mike's older sister and aspiring journalist Nancy Wheeler, said, "I think we were all so glad to get back to work after everything and so happy that they were able to find out a secure method for us to go back."
"Obviously, everyone is wearing masks, so it was a bit unusual, but it was just kind of fantastic to be back on set and working again and to continuing telling the tale that we're trying to. I believe that we were all merely quite appreciative that they managed to keep us moving, she remarked.
The season's comedic relief Argyle, Eduardo Franco, revealed that the ensemble would play a lot of card and video games while taking pauses from filming ominous, frightening moments.
"I suppose playing video games with Charlie, Finn, and Noah, as well as playing poker with Noah, was probably how I felt like I was decompressing...perhaps as a means to get away. Everyone needs a means of escape, and those were amusing times. Really enjoyable times," he remarked.
Stranger Things 4 is bigger in addition to being a darker season, according to Maya Hawke, who plays Robin Buckley. It's true in more ways than one: the fourth season debuts in two volumes in May and July and is five hours longer than any season before it.
Stranger Things is about growing up, just like many of its primary characters, and like every coming-of-age story, there is some darkness involved. This darkness may be what keeps Stranger Things so captivating season after season.
Two segments of Stranger Things 4's premiere will air. On May 27, Volume I, which consists of seven episodes, will debut. Episodes 8 and 9 of Volume II, which is the second volume, debut on July 1.
