The creators of Stranger Things have revealed a way to fix the show for its final season.
Netflix released the first volume of the hit series’ fourth season in May, which will be its penultimate, with the final two episodes arriving earlier this month.
However, it took viewers longer to engage with episodes as most of them were given epic running times.
While episodes in previous seasons had lasted 50 minutes, the majority of season four’s episodes lasted around an hour and 20 minutes – with the finale running at two hours and 20 minutes.
Reviews for the season have been mostly positive, but that hasn’t stopped fans from agreeing that each episode could have been shorter.
The show’s creators, Matt and Ross Duffer, have apparently acknowledged this, telling the Happy Sad Confused podcast that season five will feature shorter episodes.
“The only reason we’re not expecting that long is because this season, if you watch it, it’s almost two hours before our kids are really drawn into a supernatural mystery,” they said.
“You get to know them, you get to know them in their lives, they struggle to adjust to high school and so on, Steve tries to find a date, all of that. None of that is obviously going to happen [in season five].
Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown) in Stranger Things season four volume two
(netflix)
But they’ve essentially confirmed plans to make the latest outing “a 2.5-hour episode.”
Adding that a benefit of the lengthy final episode means that everything is set up when season five begins, explaining, “The characters will already be in action, they will already have a purpose and a drive, and I think That’s it. I’m going to carve out at least a few hours and make this season feel really different.
“I’m sure the synopsis will take a lot longer, it’ll be Return of the King-ish with about eight endings.”
Millie Bobby Brown and Noah Schnapp, who play Eleven and Will, recently called the show over a shared grievance regarding the characters’ treatment. The Duffer brothers took up this criticism dejectedly in the new podcast.
Meanwhile, it was revealed that Joseph Quinn, who played new character Eddie Munson, improvised one of the best lines of the season.
Stranger Things is now available to stream on Netflix. The final season is scheduled for release in 2024.