Stranger Things season 4 will be the darkest — and the funniest — yet

polygon.com:

It’s been almost three years since the last season of Stranger Things ended with some shattering consequences, leaving the characters to pick up the fallen pieces. Hopper (David Harbour) is presumed dead by most of the characters — though various teasers and post-credits scenes have revealed that he is alive, albeit in a Russian prison. Max’s (Sadie Sink) older brother Billy is dead, for realsies. Joyce (Winona Ryder) decided to move her family, along with Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown), out of Hawkins, meaning that the core friend group will be split up for the first time. With everyone scattered and grappling with these big changes, the show has much more to work with when the next season, which after some delays, finally premieres on Netflix in May — well, part one at least.

Polygon virtually visited the Stranger Things set last June, at the very start of filming, and got a chance to sit down with the cast and crew to talk about some of these big developments. And though season 4 will be broken into two parts this summer (the second comes in July) there certainly seems to be enough promise to fill a season that promises to be the darkest and funniest yet.

For one, the setting is not just limited to Hawkins, Indiana. The Byers and Eleven are now in Southern California — a stark and sunny departure from moody Hawkins, allowing the production and set team to expand their references to make sure the geographic distance is really felt. The town of Lenora is more hip to 1986 than Hawkins, which lags behind in time. It’s more beachy tones and a richer color palette, along with a smattering of surfer culture. And with the Byers now in Lenora, that means that Eleven and Mike (Finn Wolfhard), as well as Jonathan (Charlie Heaton)