Netflix hasn’t announced the release date for Stranger Things 4, but looking at the production schedule, it doesn’t seem like the new season will be released in 2020.

For those hoping to see Stranger Things 4 in 2020, we have some bad news to share. Stranger Things 4 probably isn’t going to be released next year.

No one associated with Netflix or Stranger Things has made any announcements ruling out a 2020 release date. Simply, we’re just looking at the trends and patterns with the production schedule, and the window just isn’t big enough to expect the show will be released in 2020.

TV Line recently reported Stranger Things 4 starts filming in January 2020, and production is scheduled to end around August later that year. According to the report, there are eight episodes in the new season, as well, which is in line with the first and third seasons.

If production wraps in August, there are only four months left in the year. There’s no way they will be able to do any re-shoots, if necessary, edit, and promote the show in four months. The show will need at least six months to get the season ready for the release of Stranger Things 4.

I know there’s a lot of fans who think Stranger Things 4 is coming to Netflix for Christmas 2020. That doesn’t seem very likely. A Christmas special would be possible, but I don’t think we should expect the full season by Christmas.

There’s going to be a full media tour, like there was for season 3, and they’re not going to rush these actors from production and straight into the media tour. It’s just not going to happen.

The gap between the end of production and the premiere of season 3 was about seven months. Production wrapped in November 2018, and then the full season was released in July 2019. The gap between the end of production and the premiere of season 4 will be at least that long.

If there’s a seven-month gap, we can expect Stranger Things 4 in the spring of 2021 at the earliest. I’m thinking the new season will likely arrive in April. That seems like a better time for Stranger Things 4, but I’d be happy with a March 2021 release date. Honestly, I’d be happy with any release date for the new season.

As we wait for Stranger Things 4, we’re finally starting to learn more about the new season. TV Line also confirmed the show is working to add at least four new characters for season 4. And, last week, on Stranger Things Day 2019, the writers revealed the title of the first episode of season 4!

The episode is titled “Chapter One: The Hellfire Club,” and we have a lot of thoughts about what that could mean. It also plays right into the Dark Phoenix theory that many fans have been speculating about for a while now.

So, Stranger Things 4 is probably won’t be added to Netflix next year, but we can expect to see the new season sometime, most likely spring, in 2021.

We’ll let you know more about the new season as we find out!