Everything you need to know about the new Stranger Things series!

We're in for a Stranger Things summer! The anticipated return of series four of the hit US supernatural TV drama is just days away (the first seven episodes of Stranger Things fourth season will be released on Netflix on Friday 27th May). Are you as excited as we are?

Series four resumes six months after season three's gruesome finale at the Battle of Starcourt Mall. The start of the new series sees Eleven (Bobby Brown) moving to California and surrogate Dad Hopper (David Harbour) presumed dead but actually in a snowy Russian prison thousands of miles away. The kids (Eleven, Dustin and co) are all grown up and now starting high school. We won't give too much away, but The Times have called it "a brilliantly dark return to horror like no other." The show have even cast Robert Englund, who played Freddy Krueger in the Nightmare on Elm Street films, in the latest series.

The new series has received much acclaim from critics, though some have pointed out the length of the new series, clocking in at 13 hours over nine episodes, with the finale running to two-and-a-half hours!

The Independent's Amanda Whiting notes in her review that the new series churns "through Eighties pop-cultural references at a pace that makes me worry there'll be nothing in the tank for its final, fifth chapter." Netflix announced in February that Stranger Things will end with its fifth and final season (release dates are yet to be announced, but fans have the fourth series to enjoy first anyway!)

There's also some notable newbies in season four, including one human and another...less human introduction (you'll have to watch to find out what we mean!) Now the younger group of Hawkins' teens are in high school, they're exposed to a ton of new people, including Eddie Munson, played by British actor Joseph Quinn. Now with nearly 20 key characters and a raft of plotlines, Empire magazine critic Sophie Butcher suggests that the show is "verging on storyline overload which, despite the length of the series, "leaves little time for true character development."

Need a refresh of everything that's gone down in the first 3 series? Don't worry, Netflix have got you covered with these series 1, 2 and 3 recaps! We can't wait to watch the latest antics of the hit spooky drama and decide our own verdict on the latest episodes!

P.S. If you fancy looking like your favourite Hawkins police chief whilst you watch the new series, we have just the outfit (it's never too early to start thinking about Halloween!)