‘Stranger Things’ Season 3 on Netflix: Everything you need to know

Stranger Things season 3 is finally back on Netflix after a long wait. If you’re looking for what you need to know about Stranger Things 3 before diving in, we’re here to give you the ultimate guide in everything we know including casting, plot, what to expect and even beyond Stranger Things season 3. 

Stranger Things is Netflix Original Sci-Fi series created by the Duffer Brothers. The series was the sleeper smash hit of 2016 for Netflix and its popularity exploded into pop culture.

Hitting the right chord between nostalgia and drama, Stanger Things has been one of the most entertaining series on Netflix to date. After the release of the second season, the show solidified its place as one of Netflix’s flagship titles.

Before we dive into what to expect from Stranger Things season 3, here’s the final trailer that gives you the best indication of what we can expect from the third outing.

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When is Stranger Things 3 releasing on Netflix?

Let’s start with the most important date. Stranger Things 3 is due to release on Netflix around the world on July 4th, 2019. Unlike most Netflix Originals which release on Friday, Netflix has opted to release on a Thursday to coincide with the American holiday.

Of course, if you add the title to your list, you’ll get notified instantly when the new season becomes available. Expect to get bombarded with other marketing material by Netflix about it too.

What time will it release on Netflix? That depends where you live and we’ll have a full time-zone guide close to release but it’ll be available at 00:01 AM PST which is roughly 03:01 AM EST and 08:01 AM GMT.

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Recap for Season 1 & 2 of Stranger Things

We’re going to be producing an in-depth character recap for both seasons 1 & 2 of Stranger Things but for now, Netflix has you covered with a full 15-minute recap from the cast of the show.

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What’s the plot for Stranger Things 3?

Season 3 of Stranger Things is set the following summer after the events of season 2. Summer is in full swing in Hawkins, Indiana.

A new mall has just opened up in the town, and the funfair is in full swing, and all of our heroes are now approaching adulthood. As the trailer also suggests and has been confirmed by members of the cast, the season is going to be darker while also featuring plenty of romance.

The portal to the upside down was supposedly closed off by Eleven, but something still lingers in our reality and finds a new host to operate in, which, at this point in time, looks to be Billy Hargrove.

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Cast for Stranger Things season 3

Cast members confirmed to return.

All the core cast members are set to return for season 3! The following core cast members are as follows:

Role	Actor/Actress	Where have I seen/heard before?
Jane ‘ Eleven’	Millie Bobby Brown	Godzilla: King of the Monsters, NCIS, Once Upon a Time in Wonderland
Mike Wheeler	Finn Wolfhard	It, Carmen Sandiego, Spendtime Palace: Sonora
Dustin Henderson	Gaten Matarazzo	The Blacklist
Lucas Sinclair	Caleb McLaughlin	The New Edition Story, Spy vs. Guy, Forever
Will Byers	Noah Schnapp	Snoopy and Charlie Brown, Bridge of Spies, Abe
Max Mayfield	Sadie Sink	The Glass Castle, The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, Odyessy
Nancy Wheeler	Natalia Dyer	Velvet Buzzsaw, Hannah Montana: The Movie, I Believe in Unicorns
Joyce Byers	Winona Ryder	Little Women, Edward Scissorhands, Heathers
Jim Hopper	David Harbour	Suicide Squad, A Walking Among the Tombstones, The Green Hornet
Steve Harrington	Joe Keery	Molly’s Game, Slice, After Everything
Jonathan Byers	Charlie Heaton	The New Mutants, Shut In, The Secret of Marrowbone
Billy Hargrove	Dacre Montgomery	Power Rangers, Better Watch Out, A Few Less Men

 

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New cast members for season three

There are four new cast members for season 3 of Stranger Things:

Role	Actor/Actress	Character Description
Robin	Maya Hawke	An ‘Alternative Girl’ bored with her job until she stumbles onto one of the secrets of Hawkins
Heather	Francesca Reale	A popular lifeguard at the Hawkins Community Pool who becomes the centerpiece of a dark mystery
Mayor Kline	Cary Elwes	A politician concerned with his own image rather than the people of Hawkins
Bruce	Jake Busey	A journalist for ‘The Hawkins Poat’ with questionable morals and a sick sense of humor

 

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Production Timeline for Stranger Things Season 3

Here’s a complete timeline view of season 3 so far, including its season 2 release, renewal, production start, trailer drops, and more.

• Season 2 released on October 27th, 2017
• Season 3 was officially announced in December 2017
• Production began officially on 27th April 2018
• The first teaser trailer was released 16th July 2018
• Production wrapped up on Stranger Things S3 in November 2018
• Title tease released 9th December 2018
• Season 3 date announced 31st December 2018

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Episode names & episode count for Stranger Things season 3

The third season will have eight episodes to which all 8 episodes will be available to stream from the day of release.

Netflix has already released the titles of each episode. There’s no need to worry. There are no spoilers from the episode titles.

Overall Episode Number	Number In Season	Episode Title
18	1	Suzie, Do You Copy?
19	2	The Mall Rats
20	3	The Case of the Missing Lifeguard
21	4	The Sauna Test
22	5	The Source
23	6	The Birthday
24	7	The Bite
25	8	The Battle of Starcourt

 

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Every trailer for season 3 of Stranger Things

There have been plenty of teasers and trailers for Stranger Things, so let’s take you back into chronological order of when each tease was announced and shown off.

The very first video on Stranger Things 3 was a short 1-minute and 30-second video announcing that the show had started production.

The first teaser came a full year before season 3 would even be released on Netflix. Back in July 2018, Netflix dropped the first trailer that teases the aforementioned new mall that’s coming to town.

The next tease came in December 2018, roughly a month after filming had wrapped on the show’s third season. As akin to the previous seasons, we were given a video look at the titles of each episode, which also then confirmed the episode count for season 3.

Just a few weeks later as the clocks struck midnight and made way for 2019, we were then given the official release date for Stranger Things 3.

Five months later, we got the first proper look at the next season in May 2019 in the form of its first trailer and an extended look at the pool scene featuring Billy.

Then, just a few weeks out from its full season 3 release, we got the full “final trailer” for season 3 of Stranger Things.

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Photos for Stranger Things season 3

Check out the latest images from the upcoming third season:

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Are The Duffer Brothers still involved with Stranger Things?

Yes, absolutely. Despite ongoing legal troubles with the show, they’re still actively involved in the production of Stranger Things.

The Duffer Brothers are currently solely focusing on their efforts on Stranger Things given how intensive the show is. The pair were involved in Fox’s Wayward Pines during the first season of that show but given the show is currently on hiatus and their non-existent involvement in season 2, it looks as though they won’t be returning for writing duties there.

Shawn Levy, one of the other key executives working on the show, is currently involved in the production of several other movies and working on this Netflix series. This year, he’s had credits in Fist Fight and Table 19. Next year is the scheduled release of the movie The Darkest Minds, and titles such as Atlantis 7, Cubed, and Uncharted also have Shawn involved.

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Is Stranger Things season 3 the final season

As you may now know, season 3 isn’t currently planned to be the final season. The show is scheduled to have four seasons, although it’s been cited that it could extend to five.

One of the points Ross Duffer was key to point out is that he didn’t want the series to ‘linger on’ possibly referring to shows in the same genre such as American Horror Story which has lost its edge in later seasons. Ross was keen to point out that they wanted to tell the story they had to tell and simply get out afterward.

The cast has remained tight-lipped on season 4 of Stranger Things, but some have suggested that production may have already started, with some theorizing that season 4 could have even concluded filming.

1/ For all the @Netflix/#StrangerThings fans, I'm about to reveal a dirty secret for you:

You are currently missing out on watching 4-8 episodes of Season 3, right now! There is about a 98% chance that the first half of the next season is shot, edited and post-produced.

— The Entertainment Strategy Guy (@EntStrategyGuy) June 17, 2019

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Potential spin-offs for Stranger Things season 3

As of right now, there are no planned spinoffs. Ross Duffer, in an interview, stated it was ‘about focussing on this story’ and to ‘tell this story and tell it right.’ The good news there, of course, is that the pair haven’t ruled out the possibility of a spinoff show, and it’d be interesting to see what kind of direction it’d take.

Possible spin-offs could be:

• A prequel series that follows the beginning of the experiments that take place at the Hawkins National Laboratory.
• A series that follows Kali ‘008’ and her band of vigilantes.
• Further survivors from the experiments (If any).
• It is a prequel series that takes place when Joyce Byers and Jim Hopper are at school.

Are you excited for Stranger Things season 3? Let us know in the comments below!