Courtesy of Netflix

RELATED STORIES Stranger Things' Devastating Death: Three Theories That Could Keep [Spoiler] Alive After All

Stranger Things' Devastating Death: Three Theories That Could Keep [Spoiler] Alive After All Stranger Things Renewed for Season 4 — Teaser Video Confirms [Spoiler]

The Duffer Brothers have apparently determined how much time they need to tell Stranger Things‘ next chapter — and , once again, eight appears to be enough.

Although Netflix declined to comment, TVLine has learned exclusively that the Netflix’s phenom’s recently-ordered fourth season will likely consist of eight total episodes. That’s on par with the episode counts for Seasons 1 and 3, but down slightly from Season 2’s nine installments.

Meanwhile, we can confirm that Season 4 is slated to begin shooting in January and will likely wrap in August, which essentially rules out the possibility of the series returning this summer.

In announcing Stranger Things‘ renewal back in September, Netflix dropped a teaser video that all but confirmed what was widely suspected, coming out of the Season 3 finale: that with Will’s family having moved to a new town and a possibly-alive Hopper holed up in a Russian prison, “WE’RE NOT IN HAWKINS ANYMORE.”

Matt and Ross Duffer previously hinted that Eleven & Co. may be able to take a short cut to Russia from the States, with Matt telling EW.com that Season 4 will “open up a little bit… in terms of allowing portals into areas outside of Hawkins.” While not confirming the existence of an express pathway from Hawkins to Russia (and vice-versa), Ross did acknowledge that the new season is “going to feel very different than [Season 3],” adding, “I think that’s the right thing to do and I think it’ll be exciting.”