Stranger Things Will Likely Last More Than Four Seasons

The internet dropped its collective jaw when Stranger Things creators Matt and Ross Duffer (better known together as the Duffer Brothers) stated that the series would likely only last four seasons, with Ross stating he and his twin are "thinking it will be a four-season thing and then out." 

Now, the Duffer Brothers and Stranger Things executive producer Shawn Levy are offering fans of the hit Netflix show a bit of solace: the series has potential to go past that pre-estimated timeline—but only by a little bit. 

"Hearts were heard breaking in Netflix headquarters when the Brothers made four seasons sound like an official end, and I was suddenly getting phone calls from our actors' agents," Levy told Entertainment Weekly. "The truth is we're definitely going four seasons and there's very much the possibility of a fifth. Beyond that, it becomes I think very unlikely."

The biggest concern for the creative team is ensuring that they don't overstay their welcome in the television scape or diminish their credibility by extending the show into "this has been on too long" territory. From the Duffer Brothers' vantage point, there's little worse than keeping characters in a certain setting and set of circumstances for longer than they should be. 

"It's not wrapped up this season," said Ross of the impending second season of Stranger Things. "I think [season 2] will be a satisfying end but there's still danger out there. There's too much to deal with in one more season. If we're able to, there will be at least four, there could be more. I think there's going to come a point where why aren't these people leaving Hawkins? Like we're going to stretch credibility. It wasn't intended to be a seven-season thing."

Matt added that the show isn't "built to sustain that as a narrative," referring to the dangers that plague the residents of Hawkins, Indiana, like the Upside Down and the Demogorgon. And the streaming service agrees. "After it became successful, we had one of those big meetings with Netflix over dinner and they were like 'We don't want this going on that long,'" explained Matt. "They were very supportive of it."

However, there's no telling exactly when the beloved series will end. "It's stupid to put an end date on it right now because we don't know," Matt said. 

Stranger Things season 2 stars Winona Ryder as Joyce Byers, Finn Wolfhard as Mike Wheeler, Caleb McLaughlin as Lucas Sinclair, Natalia Dyer as Nancy Wheeler, Charlie Heaton as Jonathan Byers, David Harbour as Chief Jim Hopper, Joe Keery as Steve Harrington, and newcomers Sadie Sink and Dacre Montgomery as Max and Billy, respectively. 

Matt previously said that each episode of the new season will build on the last, and that "it gets much crazier than it ever got" in the first season. We'll find out just how wild things will become when Stranger Things returns to Netflix on October 27.