Stranger Things season 3: release date, number of episodes and full file
Season 3 · File · Release, episodes, runtimes
Season 3 dropped on July 4, 2019, the American national holiday, the very day its finale takes place. Eight episodes, one summer, and the biggest launch in the platform's history at the time. Here is its full recap sheet.
The essentials
- Release date: July 4, 2019
- Episodes: 8, from 50 to 77 minutes
- Total runtime: about 7 hours 25 min
- Filming: April to November 2018, in Georgia
Contents
A July 4 release
Ordered in December 2017, season 3 was announced for summer 2019 with a trailer on New Year's Day, a poster “One summer can change everything,” and a symbolic date: July 4, the national holiday, around which the finale turns. The streamer announced 40 million households in four days, a record at the time, and 64 million in a month.
The season is the first to carry a displayed sequel title, “Stranger Things 3,” and the only one to have had a dedicated video game out the same day.
The Scoops Ahoy T-shirt, for summer 1985.
In the shopMen's Scoops Ahoy T-shirt39,90 €See the product
The eight episodes
| No. | English title | Original title | Runtime |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Suzie, Do You Copy? | Suzie, Do You Copy? | 50 min |
| 2 | The Mall Rats | The Mall Rats | 50 min |
| 3 | The Case of the Missing Lifeguard | The Case of the Missing Lifeguard | 49 min |
| 4 | The Sauna Test | The Sauna Test | 52 min |
| 5 | Sources and fountains | The Flayed | 52 min |
| 6 | Birthday | E Pluribus Unum | 59 min |
| 7 | The Bite | The Bite | 55 min |
| 8 | The Battle of Starcourt | The Battle of Starcourt | 77 min |
The 77-minute finale was, on release, the longest episode of the show. A scene after the opening credits, in a Soviet prison, relaunches the whole plot.
Making of
| Post | Detail |
|---|---|
| Creators | Matt and Ross Duffer |
| Directors | The Duffers, Shawn Levy, Uta Briesewitz |
| Music | Kyle Dixon and Michael Stein |
| New actors | Maya Hawke, Cary Elwes, Jake Busey, Alec Utgoff |
| Main set | Starcourt Mall, built in a mall in Duluth, Georgia |
| Estimated budget | about 10 million dollars per episode |
A whole mallThe wing of Gwinnett Place Mall dressed as Starcourt had real 1985 storefronts, a movie theater and a working ice-cream counter. It is the largest set built for the show.
Audience and awards
With its 40 million households in four days, season 3 remained the most watched of the show until season 4. At the 2020 Emmy Awards, it received eight nominations, including outstanding drama series, and two technical awards. Season 4 was ordered on September 30, 2019.
It is also the season most discussed for its product placements, from sodas to restaurant chains, owned as period set dressing.
Where and how to watch it
Eight episodes, almost eight hours: a season you watch fast, carried by comedy as much as by horror. Fans advise staying through the end of the credits on the last episode, for the scene in Russia, and keeping the date in mind: everything happens in ten days, from June 28 to July 4, 1985.
Markers
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| December 1, 2017 | Season 3 ordered |
| April 2018 | Start of filming |
| January 1, 2019 | First trailer |
| July 4, 2019 | Release of the eight episodes |
| July 8, 2019 | 40 million households announced |
| September 30, 2019 | Season 4 ordered |
The Robin figure, the newcomer.
In the shopLego Robin Buckley Scoops Ahoy mini figure14,90 €See the product
The season fact sheet
| Fact | Value |
|---|---|
| Order | December 2017, eight episodes |
| Start of filming | April 23, 2018 |
| End of filming | November 2018 |
| Release | July 4, 2019, all 8 episodes the same day |
| Directors | The Duffers (4), Shawn Levy (2), Uta Briesewitz (2) |
| Main set | Gwinnett Place Mall, near Duluth, Georgia, made over as Starcourt |
| Soundtrack | June 28, 2019; song compilation on July 5 |
| Title | "Stranger Things 3," like a film, on the model of season 2 |
A promotion in three beats
It all started on July 16, 2018 with a fake ad for the Starcourt mall, shot like an 80s spot: the list of shops, the "state-of-the-art" food court, and Steve and Robin who shout "Ahoy!" for Scoops Ahoy. It was the first time we were seeing images of the season.
On December 9, 2018, at the Comic Con Experience in São Paulo, Noah Schnapp, Sadie Sink, and Caleb McLaughlin unveiled the titles of the eight episodes. Finally, on December 31, a Times Square screen looped an announcement “sponsored by Starcourt”; at midnight, a teaser picking up Dick Clark's 1984 New Year's countdown, whose image flipped and blurred, revealed the date of July 4, 2019.
Starcourt: how a dead mall came back to life
Production was looking in Georgia for a mall that was closed or almost empty. Gwinnett Place, built in 1984 near Duluth, had everything it needed: the architecture of the period, and a wing unused for a long time. The designers recreated the shop fronts and the food court with 80s signs, checking which ones were plausible in 1985 Indiana.
A single exception: the photo studio where Eleven and Max have their portrait taken, inspired by a real chain that arrived in malls after 1985. A name had to be invented. The shops were fully stocked, in case the Duffers had a last-minute idea, and a canvas stretched above the atrium blocked the sun to shoot night scenes in full day.
The eight episodes in one sentence each
-
1. Suzie, Do You Copy?
The Russians under Starcourt, Billy possessed at the steel mill, Dustin picks up a coded message.
-
2. The Mall Rats
Eleven and Max go shopping, Nancy investigates the rats, Robin decodes the Russian.
-
3. The Case of the Missing Lifeguard
Heather disappears, Eleven sees Billy in the dark, the children enter the Russian base.
-
4. The Sauna Test
Billy in the sauna, Nancy and Jonathan at the hospital, Hopper and Joyce at the mayor's.
-
5. The Flayed
Tom and Bruce melt at the hospital, Hopper kidnaps Alexei, Steve and Robin are captured.
-
6. E Pluribus Unum
Eleven in Billy's mind, the beach of 1979, the steel mill; Steve and Robin drugged.
-
7. The Bite
The fair, Alexei's death, the monster bites Eleven.
-
8. The Battle of Starcourt
The battle, Dustin and Suzie's song, the keys, Billy, the Byers leaving.
The Season 3 poster.
In the shopScoops Ahoy Steve and Robin vest29,90 €See the product
TakeawayReleased July 4, 2019, eight episodes. A 77-minute finale, with a post-credits scene. 40 million households in four days. The Starcourt set, the largest built for the show.
Frequently asked questions
When did season 3 come out?
July 4, 2019, American Independence Day.
How many episodes does Season 3 have?
Eight, from 50 to 77 minutes, about 7:25.
What is the last episode of season 3?
"The Battle of Starcourt," 77 minutes, with a scene after the credits.
What audience did Season 3 draw?
40 million households in four days and 64 million in a month, according to the streamer, a record at the time.
Where was the Starcourt mall filmed?
In the Gwinnett Place mall, near Duluth, in Georgia, built in 1984 and partly empty, refitted with 80s storefronts.
How was the season 3 release date announced?
By a teaser aired at midnight on December 31, 2018, after a fake looping announcement in Times Square, taking up Dick Clark's New Year's 1984 countdown.
What was the first image of season 3?
A fake ad for the Starcourt mall, aired July 16, 2018, shot like an 80s spot and closed by Steve and Robin's "Ahoy!"