‘Stranger Things’ is back with a new season of mysterious horrors

“Stranger Things,” the hit Netflix sci-fi thriller, returns this week with the first episode of season four, promising more supernatural horrors in the fictional Indiana town of Hawkins.

Season four picks up six months after season three finished with the brutal Starcourt mall battle, with Eleven, played by Millie Bobbi Brown, having moved to California with Joyce (Winona Ryder) and her two kids, Will and Jonathan.

Eleven is quickly bullied due to her lack of telekinetic abilities and social skills. Meanwhile, the remainder of the adolescent gang in Hawkins is navigating high school as a new threat develops from the Upside Down another realm.

The return of former Hawkins police chief Hopper, Eleven’s adopted father, currently imprisoned in Russia, is the subject of a third subplot.

“It’s going to answer a lot of questions,” actor Caleb McLaughlin, who plays Lucas, told Reuters.

“(It) really kind of just dives deeper into some of the bigger questions that I think a lot of the fans have been asking. I think people are going to really be very satisfied with this season,” added Sadie Sink, who plays Max.

The COVID-19 epidemic, like other series, forced the cancellation of nine new episodes. The third season premiered in 2019.

Critics have praised the new season, but have raised concerns about episode length, with the finale clocking in at two and a half hours.

“It’s massive, a massive, massive season and it kind of explains the wait – like it’s been so long,” Gaten Matarazzo, who plays Dustin said. “We’re anxious to put it out there and we’re excited for it to pay off.”

Set in the 1980s, “Stranger Things” became a huge hit upon its release in 2016, winning a loyal following around the world.

“There’s always a lot of humor in the show…. The hallmark of the show is being able to bring humor to really serious and dark supernatural circumstances,” actor Joe Keery, who plays Steve said.

“Stranger Things” 4 Volume 1 premieres on May 27, with Volume 2 following on July 1…Reuters