Originally posted Monday, September 30, 2019 by RODNEY HO/rho@ajc.com on his AJC Radio & TV Talk blog

In one of the worst-kept secrets in TV land, Netflix finally announced it was bringing back a fourth season of “Stranger Things.”

Though Netflix does not reveal regular data on popularity, “Stranger Things” is clearly its current crown jewel and single-handedly boosted membership in July when season three came out.

Season four will return production in metro Atlanta next month.

And the creators of "Stranger Things," the Duffer Brothers, have also been rewarded a big multi-year film and series overall deal, Deadline.com said.

The teaser says, “We’re not in Hawkins anymore.” At the same time, Hawkins won’t be out of the equation completely as the Duffer Brothers in a statement made it clear Hawkins will still remain in the picture.

Given the teens on the show are rapidly maturing, the question is: how long can “Stranger Things” go on? And the Duffer Brothers are auteurs, not speed demons. Production usually takes quite a long time.

When the fourth season will air on Netflix has not been announced. So don’t be surprised if it could be at least another year before we see season four.