Stranger Things--one of Netflix’s most-watched shows–makes a return on November 26. 

Stranger Things, which has been airing on Netflix for nine years, took a hiatus for over a year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This resulted in a delay between Seasons Three and Four, as Season Four required increased production and budgeting due to the show’s growing popularity. Then the writers’ strike halted filming for Season Five, the show’s most anticipated season, which means there’s a three-year gap between Season Four and Five.

The creators of Stranger Things, Ross and Matt Duffer, claim that the hiatus was on purpose. It was a way to not rush the show and keep the suspense. 

“I get fatigued watching 20-episode seasons… If TV shows come out every year, it’s diminishing return.” Matt Duffer said in a Variety interview.

In the span of nearly ten years, the Duffer brothers have produced only 42 episodes of Stranger Things. Shows like ‘The Crown’ and ‘This is Us’ that came out in the same year have been able to produce more seasons and episodes. 

Fans of Stranger Things have changed their opinions on the show, saying that they no longer care about the show and that it’s like waiting for a whole new TV show. While the Duffer brothers said the delay was not accidental, having fans wait for a highly anticipated show kills the momentum and hype for people to continue talking about the show and hyping it up. 

Big gaps between seasons also don’t help fans’ memories of past seasons; some forget what happened and have to rewatch earlier episodes to understand again. It’s mostly just a continuous cycle of watching and re-watching.

While Stranger Things will definitely bring the hype back to Netflix, it’s definitely important to understand the strain of filming a show for years on end.