With Stranger Things season four incoming, it is hard to believe that the series could have been just one season long. However, star Gaten Matarazzo recently recalled how he and the rest of the cast were told to “enjoy it while it lasts,” as no one thought the series would be commissioned for a sophomore season. Now the show is one of the biggest original series in Netflix’s history, being a hit with both audiences and critics alike, and is heading towards its ultimate conclusion across two final seasons.

Created by The Duffer Brothers, Stranger Things is something straight out of the 80s, both with the timeline it is set in and the general feel of the storyline, which is quintessentially torn from the pages of peak Stephen King, with a bit of every sci-fi and horror franchise thrown in for good measure. The result is something that is instantly familiar, but with enough twists, turns and devastating moments to bring fans back again and again. Centering on the story of Eleven, played by Millie Bobby Brown, a young girl with supernatural abilities who escapes an institution intent on dabbling in things that should be left alone, and joins forces with a group of kids, including Matarazzo’s Dustin Henderson and Finn Wolfhard’s Mike to take down the bad guys and save the world in the process.

Speaking on the Inside of You by Michael Rosenbaum podcast, Matarazzo discussed his memories of working on the first season of the show, including when the cast all got together to be shown a rough cut of the show and were warned not to expect too much. He said:

“There’s this back room where they now hold all the costumes for background actors but back then it was an empty little room. They brought in a rinky-dink TV and a regular DVD and DVD player with a rough cut of the first episode of the show. A lot of the editing hadn’t been finished. There were shots with the green screen left in, but they had music put together. All of us were there on that day, and we sat down and watched it and I remember every moment of it to this day. After working for seven months on it, we hadn’t seen anything we had been doing and we had no assurances that this was going to be great, in fact we kept getting told ‘enjoy it while it lasts cos it’s probably not going to get a season two.’ But we watched it and were like ‘okay, we’re in good hands.’”

Stranger Things Season Four is so Big That it is Being Split into Two Parts

When Netflix announced that the new season of Stranger Things was coming this summer, no one expected it to be coming in two parts. It seems that as the series heads towards its conclusion in season five, there is more than enough story to make this the biggest season yet. The Duffer Brothers made the announcement that the new season will be the penultimate one, but wanted to make sure that fans knew that there is still a lot more horror, thrills and tears to come as they head towards the end.

“Seven years ago, we planned out the complete story arc for Stranger Things. At the time, we predicted the story would last four or five seasons. It proved too large to tell in four, but - - as you’ll soon see for yourselves - - we are now hurtling towards our finale. Season 4 will be the penultimate season; season 5 will be the last. There are still many more exciting stories to tell within the world of Stranger Things; new mysteries, new adventures, new unexpected heroes. But first we hope that you stay with us as we finish this tale of a powerful girl named Eleven and her brave friends, of a broken police chief and a ferocious mom, of a small town called Hawkins and an alternative dimension known only as the Upside Down. As always we are grateful for your patience and support.”

While the flagship show is coming to an end, there are no doubts that spin-offs are already in development, and just like any popular franchise as long as viewers are interested, then there will be someone willing to make it. With a number of tie-in novels having already been published, there is a lot to be explored in the Stranger Things universe, and it will not be too long before we start to see some of it coming down the pike.