Stranger Things season 4
The fourth season of the American science fiction horror drama television series Stranger Things, marketed as Stranger Things 4, was released worldwide on the streaming service Netflix in two volumes. The first set of seven episodes was released on May 27, 2022, while the second set of two episodes was released on July 1, 2022. The season was produced by the show's creators, the Duffer Brothers, along with Shawn Levy, Dan Cohen, Iain Paterson and Curtis Gwinn.
Stranger Things
9
May 27 –
July 1, 2022
Returning as series regulars are Winona Ryder, David Harbour, Millie Bobby Brown, Finn Wolfhard, Gaten Matarazzo, Caleb McLaughlin, Noah Schnapp, Sadie Sink, Natalia Dyer, Charlie Heaton, Joe Keery, Cara Buono, Maya Hawke, Priah Ferguson, Matthew Modine and Paul Reiser, while Brett Gelman was promoted to series regular after recurring in the previous two seasons. Jamie Campbell Bower, Joseph Quinn and Eduardo Franco joined the main cast. Tom Wlaschiha, Nikola Đuričko, Mason Dye, and Sherman Augustus appear in recurring roles.
The season was met with positive reviews, with critics praising the performances (particularly those of Harbour, Brown, McLaughlin, Sink, Bower, and Quinn), the visuals, action sequences, realistic themes, soundtrack, emotional weight, and the darker, more mature tone, though some criticized it for being overstuffed due to the lengthier episode runtimes.[1][2][3] The first volume of the season received 13 nominations for the 74th Primetime Emmy Awards, including Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Drama Series, winning five.[4][5]
Premise[edit]
Set in March 1986, eight months after the events of the third season, the fourth season is split between different plotlines.
The first plotline takes place in Hawkins, where a series of mysterious teenage murders begin haunting the town. Eddie Munson, leader of the Hellfire Club, Hawkins High School's Dungeons & Dragons group, becomes a prime suspect in the murders after senior cheerleading captain Chrissy Cunningham dies in his trailer. Dustin Henderson, Lucas and Erica Sinclair, Max Mayfield, Steve Harrington, Nancy Wheeler, and Robin Buckley begin investigating to clear Eddie's name. They discover that the true perpetrator is a powerful being who resides in the Upside Down, whom they later dub "Vecna".
The second plotline involves Mike Wheeler visiting Eleven, Will and Jonathan Byers at their new home in California. Due to the events in Hawkins and the imminent danger to her friends, Eleven goes with Dr. Sam Owens to a secret facility in Nevada to regain her powers, where she is reunited with Dr. Martin Brenner and forced to confront her past in Hawkins National Laboratory with the aid of an isolation tank. With the military searching for Eleven, Mike, Will, Jonathan, and new friend Argyle try to track her down first.
The third plotline follows Joyce Byers and Murray Bauman as they venture to Russia upon learning that Jim Hopper may still be alive. Meanwhile, Hopper is held in a Soviet prison camp in Kamchatka, where he and the other inmates are forced to battle a Demogorgon that the Russians have captured.
Production[edit]
Development[edit]
As with seasons past, planning for the fourth season of Stranger Things began before the preceding season's release. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly that ran shortly after the third season's release, series creators Matt and Ross Duffer revealed the series' creative team had already met on several occasions to discuss the show's future.[16] On September 30, 2019, Netflix announced it had signed the Duffer Brothers for a new multi-year television and film deal that was reportedly worth nine figures.[17][18][19][20][21] To coincide with the production deal announcement, Netflix also announced the renewal of Stranger Things for a fourth season by releasing a brief, minute-long teaser on YouTube.[18][20][21][22]
Writing[edit]
Commenting on the previous season's ending, Ross Duffer divulged the process of connecting story arcs between seasons:
Reception[edit]
Viewership[edit]
Netflix reported that by May 30, 2022, Stranger Things 4 had been viewed more than 287 million hours, surpassing the previous first-week viewership record from season two of Bridgerton, which had 193 million hours in its first week. Earlier seasons of Stranger Things also broke into the top 10 viewed programs in the same week as Stranger Things 4's release.[90] With its fourth season, Stranger Things became the second Netflix title to reach more than one billion hours viewed within its first 28 days of release, following Squid Game. It reached 1.352 billion hours of viewership in the first 28 days, making it the second-most viewed program after Squid Game, and the most viewed English-language series ever.[91][92][93]
Critical response[edit]
On Rotten Tomatoes, the fourth season holds an approval rating of 88% based on 193 reviews with an average rating of 7.9/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Darker and denser than its predecessors, Stranger Things' fourth chapter sets the stage for the show's final season in typically binge-worthy fashion.[94] On Metacritic, the fourth season's first volume has a score of 69 out of 100, based on 29 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews";[95] the second volume has a score of 74 out of 100, based on 18 reviews, also indicating "generally favorable reviews".[96]
Reviewing for The A.V. Club, Saloni Gajjar gave the season a "B+" and said, "Stranger Things still injects an enthralling backstory into its well-established universe. It’s an indication that the final two episodes of Volume 2 (dropping on July 1), despite its movie length, will only elevate season four."[97] The Guardian's Jack Seale gave it a 4 out of 5 stars and summarized it by saying, "Stranger Things is bigger, older, somewhat sadder – and as lovable as ever."[1] Tilly Pearce of Digital Spy also rated it a 4 out of 5 stars and said "Stranger Things continues to be the beautifully addictive nostalgic thrill ride we know and love. Season four is without a doubt the strongest offering to date and by far the most ambitious."[98]
Tara Bennett from Paste gave it a score of 8.1 out of 10 and wrote, "There’s a lot to love about Stranger Things Season 4, especially when it comes to some of the character progression and the change in vibe which fully embraces the tropes of the best of ‘80s horror."[99] In a mixed review, Mae Trumata of The Upcoming gave it a 3/5 stars and said "Overall, this is a fun continuation to Stranger Things. For anyone who’s well acquainted and attached to the series and the characters, this is an addition that will either be appreciated or tired of, as it offers nothing significantly new."[100] Author Stephen King reviewed the season as "as good or better than the previous three", pointing out a "Carrie riff". However, King opined that the decision to split the season into two parts is "kind of lame".[101] Sophie Gilbert of The Atlantic was more critical, calling the season "a 13-hour-plus behemoth that added Wes Craven to its mood board but otherwise ended with undeveloped characters and obvious but superficial allusions to contemporary crises."[102]
Critics praised Jamie Campbell Bower's performance as the season's villain. Patrick Caoile of Collider said "For the first time, Stranger Things gives us a villain with layers. Through Vecna, Bower explores a compelling, more complicated villain than the monsters that came before. From his traumatic childhood as Henry Creel to the abusive experiments he went through as One and finally to his role as the Mind Flayer’s top general, Vecna is the perfect villain to pit against Eleven.[103] Another Collider writer Robert Brian Taylor stated, "He's a compelling presence from the moment he first appears. [...] From there his performance continues to shape-shift -- from intriguing to imposing to menacing," and called his monologue scene in episode seven as "hypnotizing" and further deemed the scene as "Stranger Things at its best."[104] Vulture's Devon Ivie wrote, "[Bower] has the distinction of embodying three characters, each more unsettling than the last, as the episodes unfurl: a friendly Hawkins Laboratory orderly; Henry Creel, aka "One"; and the most significant villain of the series thus far, Vecna."[105]
TVLine named Joseph Quinn the "Performer of the Week" on May 28, 2022, for his performance in the episode "Chapter One: The Hellfire Club", writing: "Quinn took the teenager in short order from curious to concerned, then from panicked to so utterly horrified that he let out the kind of shriek that other shrieks hear and go, “Whoa.” All in all, Quinn’s debut was as auspicious as they come."[106] Caleb McLaughlin was also named the "Performer of the Week" on July 9, 2022 for his performance in the season's final episode "Chapter Nine: The Piggyback". The site wrote: "...after Vecna’s brutal assault of Max, McLaughlin unleashed Lucas' pain with a rawness and urgency that still haunts us. McLaughlin had just shown us what an empowered young man his alter ego had become."[107]
TVLine gave Sadie Sink an honorable mention on June 4, 2022 for her performance in the episode "Chapter Four: Dear Billy", writing: "Sink not only nailed the tasks [of Max trying to put on a brave face for her friends despite being anxious and afraid] while still maintaining the edge that her character had received upon enrollment in the school of hard knocks, she also played Max's bittersweet monologue to her late stepbrother with a mixture of sincerity and regret that all but defined the word 'heartbreaking'."[108] Millie Bobby Brown was also an honorable mention on July 2, 2022 for her performance in the penultimate episode "Chapter Eight: Papa". The site wrote: "Brown unleashed a pain and fury that was every bit as impressive as her character's powers. Later, when 'Jane' was offered a chance to rewrite history, in a manner of speaking, Brown beautifully, wordlessly played the emotions that were roiling inside of her alter ego. The scene was complex, deep and tricky to navigate, especially without any dialogue on her part. Yet Brown led us through it as surely as a lantern through a dark night."[109]
The season was listed as one of the best TV shows of 2022, with BuddyTV and PopBuzz placing it at number one.[110][111] Entertainment.ie ranked it at number five,[112] NME at number eight,[113] ScreenCrush at number 10,[114] and Empire at number 11.[115] In addition, Nerdist included it in its unranked list.[116]