NetflixGet ready to go back to the Upside Down because Stranger Things is returning for a second season on Netflix.
The first installment was eight episodes and starred Winona Ryder as Joyce Byers, a single mom of two who goes to extreme lengths after her youngest son, Will (Noah Schnapp), goes missing. His disappearance and the appearance of a mysterious girl, Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown) set off the events of the sci-fi series that has captivated audiences since its debut on Friday, July 15.
Season two will be set in 1984 and consist of nine episodes with a 2017 debut.
The first season cast also included David Harbour as Jim Hopper, the police chief of Hawkins, Gaten Matarazzo as Dustin, Caleb McLaughlin as Lucas, Finn Wolfhard as Mike, Natalia Dyer as Nancy, Charlie Heaton as Jonathan, Cara Buono as Karen, Matthew Modine as Dr. Brenner and Joe Kerry as Steve.
See the season two teaser above.
Stranger Things hails from Matt and Ross Duffer. The brothers discussed second season ideas at the 2016 TCA Summer Press Tour. "We wanted to feel like a big movie, so we wanted to solve that main tension of where Will went and what happened to him," Matt told press earlier this summer. "But then there's the bigger mythology behind what happened, so there's definitely a lot of dangling threads at the end…if people wanted it and Netflix wanted it, we could explore it and continue the storyline."
The brothers will return for the second season. In an interview with EW, the Duffer brothers teased several key season two details, noting it's not going to be an anthology and the new season will still be about the people of Hawkins, Indiana. There was debate about jumping around in time, but instead the second season will take place a year after the first. While no official cast was announced, you can expect the return of Ryder, Wolfhard, Matarazzo and the rest of the gang...but maybe not Brown's Eleven. Yes, you read that right. "We don't know about Eleven," Ross Duffer told EW. "We leave that up in the air."
How. Dare. They.
The second season will also include four new characters and "interesting dynamics," a return to the Upside Down, scenes outside Hawkins and some James Cameron influence.
Why the delay in renewal? Netflix boss Ted Sarandos told press at this summer's TCA that they "always want to take some time to be thoughtful about the process."
"When we first come out of the gate with something, we usually have a pretty good idea of where it's going to go, but it's sensible for us to take a little bit of time and let the show breathe. And with so many really falling in love with season one, and people who haven't really seen episodes of season one just yet, let's focus on season one right now," he said.
Stranger Things was Ryder's first series regular role. "This is my first series actually and it was great…It was a different kind of role for me," she told E! News at the show's premiere. "I've never done this genre…As you get older as an actress you want to try different things. You don't want to keep repeating yourself. I'm 44, so it was nice to play my own age."