Production Begins on ‘Stranger Things’ Final Season

The end has begun.

It’s been a year and a half since the release of the second half of Stranger Things Season 4. Under optimal circumstances, the creators of Stranger Things never worked all that fast — and since the end of Season 4 we suffered through simultaneous actors and writers strikes which slowed preparation on the fifth and final season of the series considerably.

Finally, though, the cast and crew of Stranger Things is back at work. As promised a few weeks ago, work has finally and officially begun on the final season of Stranger Things. Netflix announced the news in a press release that also included the official photo of the assembled team above.

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Netflix’s signature series upon its premiere in the summer of 2016, Stranger Things has only produced 34 episodes in the seven and a half years since. The long delays between seasons also means that the young supposedly teenage cast has rapidly grown up on camera; Finn Wolfhard and Gaten Matarazzo are both 21, for example, and Millie Bobby Brown is 19 — and has already said she’s ready to move on from the series after this upcoming season.

Here is the final season’s official synopsis:

A love letter to the ‘80s classic genre films that captivated a generation, Stranger Things is a thrilling drama set in the seemingly normal Midwestern town of Hawkins, Indiana. After a boy vanishes into thin air, his close-knit group of friends and family search for answers and are pulled into a high-stakes and deadly series of events. Beneath the surface of their ordinary town lurks an extraordinary supernatural mystery, along with top-secret government experiments and a dangerous gateway that connects our world to a powerful yet sinister realm. Friendships will be tested and lives will be altered as what they discover will change Hawkins and possibly the world — forever.

Netflix has yet to announce a premiere date for the final season of Stranger Things. If they only started shooting this week, we’re still looking at quite a few more months of waiting.

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