Netflix won't premiere 'Stranger Things' season 3 until summer 2019

You’d better soak in that nostalgic Stranger Things season 3 teaser, as that’s likely all you’re getting for a while. Netflix programming exec Cindy Holland has revealed that the third installment of the Duffer brothers’ show is launching sometime in summer 2019. That’s a considerably longer wait than the 15 months between the first two seasons — you’re looking at a minimum of 18 months after season 2. There may be a good reason for the lengthier wait, though.

Both the Duffers and executive producer Shawn Levy know the “stakes are high,” according to Holland, and want to provide “bigger and better” material than in the second run. She added that there would be more special effects than before. While Holland didn’t directly acknowledge th mixed reactions to the second season, there’s little doubt that Netflix wants to attract people who weren’t completely enthralled in 2017. It’s doubtful Netflix is too worried about Stranger Things‘ extra development time when it has roughly 700 originals lined up for 2018, including the likes of Disenchantment and Narcos: Mexico. With that said, it can only afford to wait so long — its shows haven’t been attracting as many new viewers as it might have liked in recent months, and more Stranger Things could be crucial to keeping the company’s growth on track.