When Netflix series Stranger Things returns for its third season, you can be sure all the elements we’ve come to expect will be there: the return of the Shadow Monster, the Upside Down, and more adventures with our scrappy teenage heroes.
This time around, waffle-loving Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown) is off school enjoying the summer of 1985. But some things may surprise audiences.
Eleven is dating Mike (Finn Wolfhard); Max (Sadie Sink) is dating Lucas (Caleb McLaughlin) and there may even be a budding romance between Eleven’s adoptive father, Hopper (David Harbour), and Joyce (Winona Ryder).
“At its heart, this is the summer of love on Stranger Things,” David tells TV WEEK on the Atlanta set. “Everybody gets to wear cute clothes and fall in love, [but] there is still that horrible sci-fi element underneath.”
Finn admits Mike has a lot more on his mind than the Shadow Monster this season.
“Eleven and Mike are in the honeymoon phase of middle-school dating and we’ve started kissing,” he teases.
Eleven and Max embark on summer romances with Mike and Lucas. (Image: Netflix.)
As we’re watching filming on a studio soundstage, the cabin previously used as a temporary hideout for Eleven is now her permanent home with her adoptive father Hopper.
In the scene being shot, Eleven is in her room kissing Mike, but the pair quickly separate and throw open school books when Hopper opens the door to check on them.
“Hopper is a different guy this season, as Eleven is going through a lot of hormonal changes and he’s the ’80s dad who doesn’t have the emotional intelligence that modern men may have around that,” David explains.
Asked to describe Hopper’s love life this season, he teases, “All I can say is that it’s a bit of a soap opera, but we’re going to give the fans some more of what they want and have been clamouring for.”
Awkward, busted by Hopper and Joyce. (Image: Netflix.)
The ’80s vibe continues beyond the moustache Hopper is now wearing, as he enjoys his La-Z-Boy chair in the cabin while watching Magnum PI.
While on set, we get a glimpse of new interior sets of an ice-cream store where a major character will work and the shopping mall it’s located inside is an actual former mall nearby.
“I certainly have a lot of nostalgia for that period,” David says. “Back then you’d be hanging out at the mall talking to your friends in one place instead of texting!”
Stranger Things Season 3 begins July 4 on Netflix.
