Stranger Things Season 2 Will Debut Earlier Than We Thought

Four days from now, it will make a full year since Netflix dropped Stranger Things onto unsuspecting viewers -- well, anyone who heeded my advice suspected it -- and the streaming giant just gave fans more reasons to cheer by dropping a new release date for Season 2 that will put us back in the Upside Down earlier than we thought. Instead of its previously announced Halloween debut, Stranger Things Season 2 will now premiere on Friday, October 27.

Now, a four-day advance on a TV show's release might not mean as much if we were talking about your average network comedy or drama, but when we're talking about Netflix, where entire seasons are available at the drop of a remote, it's everything. As you'd probably noticed if you'd created Stranger Things paper chains with dates written on all the links, Halloween falls on a Tuesday this year, and though Netflix does use Tuesdays for certain releases these days, that would not allow for the healthiest of binge-watches for sections of the demographic that are either in school or following traditional work weeks.

But by moving Stranger Things Season 2 back to October 27, Netflix is giving its customers a full weekend to spend in and around Hawkins, Indiana to see just what the hell is inside of Will Byers' body, what Sheriff Hopper's got going on, and to see how Barb gets referenced (but without a live-action reprisal). Plus, we need to know what's up with that new monster, which we can get a small peek at in the poster that Netflix released to coincide with the premiere shift.

This is more or less a shot from the Season 2 trailer, but it still looks pretty magnificent with this framing, rather than the landscape perspective that TV provides. It makes that big bastard in the clouds, which is possibly called the Shadow Monster, even more menacing and impressive, hovering so far above the four beast-thwarting bike-riders below. It's unfortunate that Eleven isn't around, but maybe she's got something to do with that significantly blue section on the right, which is possibly meant to signify the big tear in reality.

However it goes, we're more than intrigued to find out what that's about, and more. There are a handful of new characters showing up, including those played by Paul Reiser and Sean Astin, and we're going to see the beloved teen leads getting some individual story arcs, rather than sticking solely to the group aesthetic. Should be awesome.

So remember, Stranger Things Season 2 is set to make its big cloud-parting debut on Netflix on Friday, October 27, at 12:01 a.m. PT. Since there's quite a while to wait until then, head to our summer premiere schedule to see what will take over your TVs until then.