STRANGER THINGS Producer Shawn Levy Explains Why the Pandemic May Have Made the Show's Fourth Season Its Best Yet

Stranger Things has been a series phenomenon, with a fanbase unlike any other show on the streaming service Netflix. The show is a mix of horror, comedy, drama, and nostalgic fun, and fans have happily come back each season to see what the creators of the series, The Duffer Brothers, have in store.

The first season of the show was released in July of 2016, and took place in November of 1983. The second season was released in October of 2017, and focused on the Halloween season 1984, with Season 3 being a departure from the fall season, following the kids during the hot 1985 summer break. Season 3 took 21 months to make it to the screen, but it was a blast, and it was awesome to see the story shaken up a bit. The cast had come together for the Season 4 table read right before the pandemic, but was, of course, put on hold until last month.

We haven’t yet learned when this new season will take place, or when it will be released, but at least we know it’s in the works! And according to the show’s executive producer Shawn Levy, the pandemic may have contributed to the show’s best season yet! In a recent interview with Collider about Levy’s new Netflix series, Dash & Lily, the producer gave an update on Stranger Things, saying:

“I’ll just say the pandemic definitely massively delayed shooting and therefore the launch of our current Season 4, date still TBD. But it impacted very positively by allowing the Duffer brothers, for the first time ever, to write the entire season before we shoot it and to have time to rewrite in a way that they rarely had before so the quality of these screenplays are exceptional, maybe better than ever.”

This was the same sentiment shared by director Jason Reitman when production was shut down on Ghostbusters: Afterlife. He said he was able to slow down and really edit the film and fine tune it to be exactly perfect instead of pump it out so quickly. So even though we are having to wait an extra long time for the shows and movies we are longing for, it may turn out that we are getting something even better than we expected!

Stranger Things seasons 1-3 are currently available on Netflix, and Season 4 is slated to hit sometime in 2021.