Good news for those Stranger Things fans who never want the Upside Down fun to end: Netflix this week announced a whopping 13-hour-long fourth season, featuring nine episodes divided over two release dates.
Creators Matt and Ross Duffer in February teased a series of "unprecedented length"—so epic, it's been split into two volumes, the first of which airs May 27.
Tune in on Friday to watch the first seven episodes of the season, followed by the two-part grand finale on July 1. All nine chapters total roughly 13 hours; the final two clock in at nearly four hours, according to Netflix.
Season four picks up six months after the Battle of Starcourt; now, Eleven and friends must learn to navigate the ups and downs of high school—while trying to destroy the Upside Down. The plot, however, is not confined to Indiana; Netflix teased far-flung drama in California, Russia, "and elsewhere."
Cancel your weekend plans, grab some Eggo waffles, and settle in for nine hours of D&D, supernatural forces, and 1980s nostalgia. (For the record: episode 407 is 1 hour and 38 minutes.) Then do it all over again in July, when the final four hours air across two episodes (408: 1 hour, 25 minutes; 409: nearly 2 hours, 30 minutes).
Stranger Things seasons one and three featured eight episodes each, while season two had nine. But instead of airing additional hour-long installments and drawing the series out to, say, 12 episodes, the streaming sensation instead hopes to keep viewers glued to their screens for longer periods at a time.
If you can't wait four more days, get your Stranger Things fix now with a sneak peek at the first eight minutes of the S4 premiere. Then check out Netflix's A-Z recap of the first three seasons (available to watch on the streaming platform), and raise a glass to Barb.