We've been getting hints and tidbits about the next season of Stranger Things since Season 2 first dropped. Back in December, our own Steve Weintraub spoke to executive producers Shawn Levy and Dan Cohen, as well as the Duffer Brothers, about Dr. Brenner, finding additional "numbers" like Eleven, the demodog in the fridge, and more. But now, thanks to some red carpet interviews before the show's PaleyFest panel, we have a few more specifics about Season 3, including where things are kicking off.

According to THR, Levy revealed that the upcoming season will take place one year after the end of Season 2, i.e. the summer of 1985. Though the cast hasn't received any scripts yet, Levy did say that Eleven (Millie Bobbie Brown) / Mike (Finn Wolfhard) and Lucas (Caleb McLaughlin) / Max (Sadie Sink) would be coupled up. However, "Mike and Eleven and are going strong, so that's a relationship that continues, and same with Mad Max and Lucas. But again, they're like 13 or 14-year-old kids, so what does romance mean at that stage of life? It can never be simple and stable relationships and there's fun to that instability,"

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Image via Netflix

Levy also said that Back to the Future will be a major reference in the new season, which is set to start production soon. And most importantly, following the break-out success of Steve (Joe Keery) and Dustin's (Glen Matarazzo) friendship:

 "We'll definitely get to see some more of Steve Harrington in season three, and I'll just say we won't be abandoning the Dad Steve magic. I don't want to say much more, but I literally feel that we were walking along and we stumbled onto a gold mine with Dad Steve."

David Harbour (who plays Chief Hopper) and Brown also discussed during the panel how they really created a father-daughter dynamic on and off screen, with Harbour saying, "I don't have a child. All of my experiences of love have either been romantic, or my parents, or a dog [...I discovered] a love that was human but pure, like you would take a bullet for someone."

For more Stranger Things, check out these recent stories below:

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