The Stranger Things writers room revealed on Twitter that all the scripts for season 4 are completed and ready to rock once production gets underway. They did this by taking a picture of a big ol' pile of scripts, and after staring at this demented funhouse optical illusion for a full hour I'm pretty sure there are nine scripts on that table. This would be newsworthy in itself, as Stranger Things has flip-flopped its episode count as it went along. Created by Matt and Ross Duffer, the series debuted on Netflix in 2016 with eight episodes, bumped up to nine episodes for season 2, then back down to eight for season 3.

It's worth noting that, back in October of 2019, it was reported Stranger Things season 4 would be eight episodes. But, as you may have noticed if you have two eyes and a working brain stem, some stuff has changed since then. Just having a completed set of scripts before filming at all is a new change of pace for the show. Stranger Things usually brings in producer Shawn Levy to direct its mid-season episodes so the Duffers can finish the latter half scripts.

Bumping up an extra episode can mean anything from the story expanding thanks to quarantine time or, as in the case of season 2, the Duffers once again vastly overestimated how much time the audience would want to spend with a set of characters we barely know or care about. Either way, after a two-year absence and a few major cliffhangers, season 4 has a lot of ground to cover. The first teaser introduced one of the major plot points, confirming that David Harbour's Sheriff Hopper is very much alive but imprisoned in a snowy wasteland.

Check out the photo below. For more on Stranger Things, check out the cast being delightful at the season 4 table read before production was shut down.