Stranger Things officially renewed for season three

STRANGER THINGS season two proved the first season wasn’t a fluke, earning similar levels of critical praise and proving that the young cast members are all forces to be reckoned with. The second season left things off on an ominous note, but after over a month since the season's release, Netflix has officially announced the show will be returning for a third season. 

The announcement was made via Twitter, wherein Netflix put out a tweet asking if they should make a new season of the show, all before answering their own question in a very meta way. Though Netflix doesn’t usually release viewer metrics, they did reveal that over 15 million people watched the season two premiere within the first weekend of its release and that over 360,000 people subscribers watched the whole season in 24 hours (*raises hand*).

FOR THE LOVE OF STEVE, DUH! So hold tight baby darts — season 3 is officially happening.

— Netflix US (@netflix) December 1, 2017

Word is (via THR) that before season three starts all the young actors, including Finn Wolfhard, Millie Bobby Brown, Noah Schnapp, Gaten Matarazzo and Caleb McLaughlin, will be “banding together” to renegotiate their contracts. Apparently, the stars got paid around $30,000 per episode for seasons one and two, and they will be asking for better deals come season three given how the show's licensing deals, including collectibles, clothes and more, has been lucrative beyond what anyone expected for the streaming service. As well as the young stars, Netflix confirmed the return of Winona Ryder as Joyce Byers, David Harbour as Chief Jim Hopper, Cara Buono as Karen Wheeler, Natalia Dyer as Nancy Wheeler, Charlie Heaton as Jonathan Byers, Joe Keery as Steve Harrington, and newcomers Dacre Montgomery as Billy, and Sadie Sink as Max.

Matt and Ross Duffer said back in August that season three was certainly a go, but this is the first time Netflix has confirmed it. They also mentioned that they may stop after season four, joking that they couldn't justify putting the characters through something horrible for so many years. The first season of the show was released in July 2016, and the second season was given the go that next August. No word yet on how far along they are in planning out season three and when it could start shooting, but perhaps we could see the third season in late 2018 or early 2019. 

Season two of the show was certainly solid, but I prefer season one much more. Splitting Eleven (Brown) wasn't as interesting as I had hoped, and Mike (Wolfhard) wasn't left with much to do but be sad about her being gone. But the show did certainly expand into darker territory, introduced a creepy new entity in the Mind Flayer, and allowed for Schnapp to showcase his talent as Will. For the most part, people seemed to enjoy this second season, which means the pressure is on for season three to live up to some lofty standards. 

STRANGER THINGS seasons one and two are currently on Netflix now.