Stranger Things Season 3 Episode Count Revealed (Nope! Not Eleven)
It's going to be a while before fans get to binge-watch Season 3 of the hit Netflix series Stranger Things.
Now, there's some more bad news in store for its followers: the upcoming season will be shorter than the show's previous season.
Season 3 Episode Count And Premiere Date
According to TVLine, the third outing of the popular science-fiction horror series will comprise of only eight episodes, which is fewer than Season 2's nine episodes but the same as Season 1's total tally.
The Duffer Brothers decided to dedicate the additional episode in Season 2 titled The Lost Sister to explore Eleven's (Millie Bobby Brown) relationship with her long-lost sister from the Laboratory, Kali a.k.a. Eight (Linnea Berthelsen). However, the series will be returning to its fast-paced roots and tell its story over eight episodes as it did in the Netflix series' opening season.
Filming for the upcoming installment is expected to commence in mid-April. In December, Stranger Things cast member David Harbour, who plays the role of Chief Jim Hopper on the show, confirmed that Season 3 will not arrive until 2019.
What's Revealed So Far About Season 3
The Duffer Brothers previously confirmed that there would be a time jump in the upcoming season in order to keep up with its aging young cast by the time the season premieres on Netflix in 2019.
"Even if we wanted to hop into the action faster, we couldn't," Matt Duffer told The Hollywood Reporter. "Our kids are aging. We can only write and produce the show so fast. They're going to be almost a year older by the time we start shooting Season 3... [so] it forces you to do a time jump."
The introduction of Kali in Season 2 confirmed that there are other kids with special powers in the show's universe and it's possible that one or more of them might pop up in Season 3.
After battling the Demogorgon in Season 1 and the Mind-Flayer in the subsequent season, the Hawkins's kids will take on a new villain next season. Last month, producer Shawn Levy confirmed that the upcoming season will feature "forces of evil that are new." He also pointed out that Will (Noah Schnapp) won't be the main source of distress for a third consecutive season.
The upcoming season of Stranger Things will see the return of cast members Brown, Harbour, Schnapp Winona Ryder, Finn Wolfhard, Caleb McLaughlin, Gaten Matarazzo, Cara Buono, Natalie Dyer, Charlie Heaton, Joe Keery, Dacre Montgomery, and Sadie Sink.
