‘Stranger Things’ Season 4: Watch the First 8 Minutes of Episode 1

Fans have been clamoring for Stranger Things Season 4 to debut on Netflix, and now they can get a taste of what’s to come. The streamer just released the first eight minutes of Episode 1 on YouTube to hold fans over until the full Season 4, Volume 1 debuts on May 27. Stranger Things Season 4, Volume 2 is set to premiere later in the summer, on July 1. Please note: Stranger Things spoilers lie below.

The new clip jumps back and reveals a new glimpse of the program that created Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown). We see Matthew Modine as Martin Brenner, the scientist in charge of Hawkins Laboratory, as he goes about a normal day, however, things soon take a violent turn. While Brenner is running tests on a child who resembles Eleven, unusual things began happening. As he begins to investigate, everything goes dark. Brenner awakens, bloody and injured, seemingly having been hit by the metal door to the room he was in. He wanders around to find the source of the disturbance, eventually discovering a young Eleven, angry and bleeding from her nose. This appears to be the day she broke out of the lab and went on the run, which was depicted in the show’s first season.

In August, Stranger Things creators Matt and Ross Duffer spoke with The Hollywood Reporter about the show and clarified Season 4 is not planned to be the final season for Stranger Things, as previously speculated. “Season 4 won’t be the end. We know what the end is, and we know when it is,” said Ross. “[The COVID-19 pandemic] has given us time to look ahead, figure out what is best for the show. Starting to fill that out gave us a better idea of how long we need to tell that story.”

Regarding the shooting status at the time, Ross explained that “everyone’s excited to get back to work, but the priority is the safety of the cast and crew, and that will dictate when we go back.” He continued: “We’ve had a lot more time to work on the scripts. For the first time, we have all the scripts written and we’re able to look at it as a whole piece and make adjustments.” It was later revealed that the show will end with a recently announced Season 5. Netflix subscribers have just one week to refresh themselves on Stranger Things Seasons 1-3 before Season 4, Volume 1 debuts next Friday.