The entertainment industry has been plagued with all sorts of delays and setbacks this year, with several film and television projects falling behind schedule due to the ongoing pandemic. Streaming services, in particular, have been faced with the challenge of wrapping up the production of their TV shows during a time when filming regulations are stricter than ever, and Stranger Things is no exception.

For Netflix, new releases such as Jupiter's Legacy and Shadow's Bone have helped keep audiences engaged for the time being; however, it's clear that the streamer has been missing the heavy lifting that comes from its biggest shows. Perhaps the most anticipated Netflix release that fans are waiting for is Stranger Things, which is due for its fourth season.

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While many people were hoping that the hit show would be ready to stream sometime this year, it looks like the wait may end up being a little bit longer than we initially expected. A few months after the third season of Stranger Things debuted on July 4, 2019, production of the fourth season had been underway; however, due to pandemic-related shutdowns, the project was delayed by multiple months and there's no saying when filming will officially be completed. Finn Wolfhard, the actor who plays Mike Wheeler in the series, recently spoke about the delay in a recent Fanmio video call, saying that season four "should be out sometime next year," in 2022. This is a more realistic timeframe, considering that production on Stranger Things season 4 was put on a significant hold throughout 2020. That said, Netflix has not yet confirmed Wolfhard's statements, so it's unclear whether the show will actually take that long to come out.

According to The Observer, if the fourth season of Stranger Things does not get released until 2022, it will "leave a hole" in Netflix's third- and fourth-quarter schedules. Should that worst-case scenario occur, Netflix will probably want to get cracking on its other hit titles such as The Witcher or Bridgerton to fill that potential void.

As disheartening as it is for Stranger Things fans to have to endure yet another delay, it will surely be worth the wait; at least according to Gaten Matarazzo, a.k.a. Dustin Henderson. In a recent statement, Matarazzo said that the fourth season of Stranger Things is the scariest one yet, with the story and its characters having "definitely matured" since the previous season.

We will just have to wait and see what new story the Duffer Brothers have come up with for Stranger Things. Until then, only time will tell if it will truly live up to the hype.

Stranger Things Season 4 is currently in production.

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Source: Stranger Things Spoilers/Twitter