Stranger Things season 4 episode runtimes are in – and we're in for a long, long ride

Eleven screams as she activates her powers in Stranger Things season 4
(Image credit: Netflix)

Netflix has unveiled the running times for all nine episode of the fourth season of Stranger Things.

The first part of Stranger Things season four will debut on Netflix a week today (May 27), with the season's first seven episodes dropping then. The second instalment will follow on July 1 and include just two episodes. 

It was bizarre enough that Netflix decided to break the fourth season of Stranger Things in half to begin with, let alone its choosing to stop at seven episodes of a nine-episode run – but now we know why. Those final two episodes? Well, they're basically movies. 

As revealed on Netflix's official blog, Tudum, the season's seventh episode, which has not been shown to reviewers ahead of time, will come in at a whopping 98 minutes (or one hour and 38 minutes).

The two remaining episodes, which are due to drop in July, are both just as meaty. The season's eighth episode comes in at 75 minutes, or one hour and 25 minutes, while the season finale is going to be almost two-and-a-half hours. Yikes...

That means the show's fourth season, despite technically only being nine episodes in all, will run to over 13 hours. For comparison, you could watch every film in the Mission: Impossible series in the same time period, and you would still have 10 minutes left to make a cup of coffee...

Mike, Dustin and Max looking shocked at something off camera in Stranger Things season 4

(Image credit: Netflix)

A supersized season

We perhaps shouldn't be surprised by this news. Everything in the build-up to the new season of Stranger Things has suggested that Netflix executives have given its creators, the Duffer Brothers, carte blanche to go and explore whatever they liked, no matter the time or cost required. 

A report released a few weeks ago put the cost of every episode in Stranger Things season 4 at $30 million per episode, meaning the final bill for the series came to a staggering $270 million. 

By way of comparison, the final season of Game of Thrones cost $15 million per episode, while The Mandalorian, Disney Plus' megahit Star Wars spin-off, cost around the same for each episode.

Stranger Things has one season left to go after its fourth run and, let's face it, it's unlikely that the hit TV series will become shorter and cheaper in its final flourish. The accountants at Netflix must be rather nervous about what The Duffer Brothers will cook up...

Tom Goodwyn
Freelance Entertainment Writer

Tom Goodwyn was formerly TechRadar's Senior Entertainment Editor. He's now a freelancer writing about TV shows, documentaries and movies across streaming services, theaters and beyond. Based in East London, he loves nothing more than spending all day in a movie theater, well, he did before he had two small children… 

Read more
A behind-the-scenes image of Matt and Ross Duffer looking at a TV monitor while filming Stranger Things season 5
Stranger Things season 5's 12-month shoot yielded 650-plus hours of footage for its eight 'blockbuster movie' episodes, the popular Netflix show's creators say
A screenshot of the Stranger Things season 5 title card, which shows red writing on a black background
Stranger Things season 5: everything we know so far about the hugely popular Netflix show's return
A behind-the-scenes image of Matt and Ross Duffer looking at a TV monitor while filming Stranger Things season 5
Stranger Things season 5 has wrapped filming as Netflix doubles down on the hugely popular show's return in 2025, and now I'm even more excited for its return
Steve, Dustin, Max, and Robin looking surprised at a computer screen in Stranger Things 4
Netflix reportedly suffers huge Stranger Things season 5 leak as supposed launch date, release schedule, and plot details emerge online for the popular show's final chapter
 A broken VHS with the Black Mirror logo
Black Mirror season 7: everything we know so far about the hit Netflix show’s return
Seong Gi-hun staring intently at a Squid Game soldier in Squid Game season 2
Squid Game season 2 continues to smash records for Netflix, but it's still can't compete with the streamer's most-watched non-English show of all-time
Latest in Netflix
Cristin Milioti in Black Mirror season 7
Netflix launches trailer for Black Mirror season 7, giving us a look at its first-ever sequel episode and an unexpected returning character
A woman holds a phone and looks concerned in Caught
Netflix drops an eerie trailer for a new Harlan Coben show – I just hope Caught is better than the author's previous TV adaptations
Nicole Kidman wears a blue blouse with her arms crossed.
Netflix might be renewing The Perfect Couple and Beauty in Black for season 2, but I don’t get why when it’s canceled shows with poorer ratings
Susan holding her baby in Toxic Town.
Netflix's #3 show has a flawless 100% on Rotten Tomatoes – here are 3 more powerful dramas to watch after Toxic Town
Devil May Cry's Dante has his back to the camera, holding onto a large sword
Netflix's official Devil May Cry trailer features music from my favorite alternative rock band and it's taken me on a serious nostalgia trip
Joe Goldberg and Kate Lockwood sitting at a table and looking at the camera in You season 5.
Netflix releases a killer new trailer for You season 5 but my favorite character is missing from Joe's final chapter
Latest in News
Three iPhone 16 handsets on show
Apple could launch an iPhone 17 Ultra this year – but we've heard these rumors before
Super Mario Odyssey
ChatGPT is the ultimate gaming tool - here's 4 ways you can use AI to help with your next playthrough
Ray-Ban smart glasses with the Cpperni logo, an LED array, and a MacBook Air with M4 next to ecah other.
ICYMI: the week's 7 biggest tech stories from Twitter's massive outage to iRobot's impressive new Roombas
Brad Pitt looks over his right shoulder with 'F1' written behind him
Apple Original Films will take you behind-the-scenes of a racing cockpit in this new thrilling F1 movie trailer
AI writer
Coding AI tells developer to write it himself
Reacher looking down at another character from the Prime Video TV series Reacher
Reacher season 3 becomes Prime Video’s biggest returning show thanks to Hollywood’s biggest heavyweight