‘Stranger Things’ Season 3 Probably Won’t Debut Until 2019

In recent years, a variety of different TV series have demonstrated production values that rival, and sometimes exceeds, the production value of movies. Stranger Things has shown us monsters and alternate dimensions, making the process of creating the show lengthy and labor intensive. According to star David Harbour, fans shouldn’t expect to see the show’s third season until sometime in 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. But also part of the thing is, like any good thing, they need time. And those guys work so hard. I mean, they just sit in their apartment and write for 12, 14 hours a day.”

In ways both good and bad, the Netflix model of releasing an entire season of a series all at once has changed the way audiences consume a series. In the case of Stranger Things, the show’s creators, the Duffer Brothers, view each season as an entire story. Dropping an entire season all at once allows audiences to view the series without any breaks, digesting the entire story when they finish the season finale.

A drawback to this release strategy, however, is that once you’ve watched the whole season the weekend it debuts, the wait feels even longer before we get new episodes. The special effects of a series likeStranger Things lead to longer production schedules, resulting in more than a year off in between seasons.

The first season of Stranger Things debuted in July 2016, quickly becoming a pop culture sensation. The next season didn’t debut until October 2017, so if fans have to wait another 16 months, we might not see Season 3 until February of 2019.

Another question audiences have about the upcoming season is if it will increase its episode count, as Season 1 featured eight episodes and Season 2 featured nine. It’s possible that the increase in episode order could have led to a longer production time, which could cause more delays in the release of the new episodes.

Both seasons of Stranger Things are currently streaming on Netflix.

[H/T Variety]