Few Netflix shows have seen the kind of explosive success that greeted the first three seasons of Stranger Things. Production began earlier this year on the fourth season of the sci-fi horror show before the global lockdown shut the whole operation down. Now, Netflix's official Twitter account has released an image showing filming has finally resumed for the new season of the show.

The first season of Stranger Things started out on a relatively understated note, telling the story of the small town of Hawkins set in the '80s, where the arrival of a mysterious child named Eleven with unusual powers coincided with a series of gruesome attacks on the local population by an otherworld entity. Millie Bobby Brown as Eleven was an instant hit, and became one of Netflix's original homegrown stars.

The season drew high praise and amassed a loyal fan following, with critics praising the '80s nostalgia of the show and the strong chemistry between a large number of cast leads. The second season of the show dialed up the ante even further, delving deeper into the parallel dimension from whence the demon from the first season came and setting up the arrival of a Lovecraftian entity that wishes to devour all life on Earth.

Season 3 ended with the threat of the entity temporarily ended, but with strong hints that the danger was far from over. The death of fan-favorite character Jim Hopper, played by David Harbour, added to the woes of fans, who are anxiously waiting for Season 4 to bring Hopper back into the world of the living. Previously, Harbour had promised that the story of Hopper's return is going to be told in an epic fashion, akin to the literal trial-by-fire that Gandalf the Grey underwent in the Lord of the Rings:

"We were always interested in that idea of the Gandalf resurrection - Gandalf the Grey who fights the Balrog and then becomes Gandalf the White. It's the idea of the resurrection of the character. And mythologically, Hopper, in a sense, had to change. I mean, you couldn't go on the way he was going on. He has to resurrect in some way."

While Hollywood has cautiously restarted production on several major new film and television projects, the proceedings have frequently been disrupted by new reports of infection on sets. As such, filming Stranger Things, with its large list of main and supporting characters, will be an even more complicated process fraught with difficulties. Hopefully, the cast and crew will be able to get through their schedule without any untoward incidents that could shut down production once again.

Created by the Duffer Brothers, Stranger Things features an ensemble lead cast of Winona Ryder, Millie Bobby Brown, David Harbour, Finn Wolfhard, Gaten Matarazzo, Caleb McLaughlin, Noah Schnapp, Natalia Dyer, Charlie Heaton, Joe Keery, Priah Ferguson, Cary Elwes, Jake Busey and Maya Thurman-Hawke. The first three seasons are currently streaming on Netflix, while Season 4 has only recently resumed production.