‘Stranger Things’ Episode Count Goes Down For Season 3

Stranger Things fan are counting down the minutes until the premiere of the third season of the hit series, but once that day gets here, they won’t be counting as many episodes in their Netflix queue. According to TV Line, the highly anticipated third season of Stranger Things will consist of just eight episodes. The first season of Stranger Things also featured eight episodes, but fans were treated to nine episodes of the ’80s-themed hit for Season 2 last fall.

There is no word when Stranger Things 3 will debut on Netflix, but TV Line reports that production on the show will commence in mid-April. That said, fans probably shouldn’t count on a Halloween week premiere like last season.

The first season of Stranger Things premiered in July of 2016, and Season 2 premiered in October of 2017. With 15 months between the first two seasons, Stranger Things star David Harbour revealed that the third season of the show may not debut until 2019 due to the lengthy production time. The second season of Stranger Things didn’t premiere until 11 months after production started, so if Season 3 follows suit, fans may not see it until March of 2019.

“I mean, one of the things that’s annoying for fans is that it takes us a long time to do them,” Harbour told Variety. “Like, you probably won’t get [Season 3] until sometime in 2019.”

Harbour added that “like any good thing, [The Duffer Brothers] need time.” In other words, Stranger Things 3 will be worth the wait.

In an interview with the Hollywood Reporter, Stranger Things creator Matt Duffer revealed that there will be at least a one-year time jump for the third installment of the series due to the teen cast’s growth spurts. Stranger Things 2 was set in 1984, so the upcoming season of the show will likely be set in at least 1985.

“Our kids are aging,” Duffer told THR. “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.”

In addition to Harbour, Stranger Things stars Winona Ryder, Finn Wolfhard, Noah Schnapp, Millie Bobby Brown, Caleb McLaughlin, Gaten Matarazzo, Cara Buono, Natalia Dyer, Charlie Heaton, Joe Keery, Dacre Montgomery, and Sadie Sink.

Take a look at a trailer for Stranger Things below.