Hugely popular Netflix show makes drastic change ahead of return-Rishma Dosani-Entertainment – Metro

Stranger Things season 5 is coming very soon (Picture: Netflix)

Things are about to get very dark in Hawkins after Netflix made a major change to Stranger Things.

The fifth and final season of the hugely popular sci-fi series will be landing on the streaming platform next year, after what feels like decades of waiting.

After nearly a decade of fighting Vecna and escaping the Upside Down, Millie Bobby Brown, Finn Wolfhard, Winona Ryder, David Harbour, Caleb McLaughlin, Sadie Sink and co are preparing to bid farewell once and for all.

Ahead of the new episodes, eagle-eyed viewers spotted a huge difference in how Netflix bosses labeled the drama, suggesting there could be even bleaker scenes coming our way.

Fans noticed that the rating was briefly changed to TV-MA, aka for ‘mature audiences’, which is comparable to an R-rated movie or TV show.

Others with similar ratings include Sex and the City, Ozark and iconic legal drama, Suits.

There may be some darker times ahead for the Hawkins gang (Picture: Netflix)

This suggests that there will be much darker material to come for Eleven and the gang when season five hits our screens.

However, there has been some confusion over the footage as Stranger Things has now returned to a TV-14 rating, with the guidance stating: ‘Parents strongly cautioned. May not be suitable for ages under 14.’

Unpacking the ratings on Reddit, many welcomed the change, suggesting that it could allow creators the Duffer Brothers to dive into more adult themes freely.

Hadapurpura wrote: ‘I said this somewhere else: I love that they’re doing this.

Fans welcomed the change on social media (Picture: Netflix)

My theory: I don’t think the content level will be much different, but the MA rating is a kind of “insurance” against any type of “Won’t Someone Think of the KIDS???” type of backlash.

‘Especially with the new US administration, an MA rating means they can tackle adult (as in complex) themes without being too concerned about the morality police.’

CrownBestowed agreed: ‘I mean the opening to season 4 was dark as hell, so idk how much darker they’re gonna get.

‘Probably just trying to cover the bases just in case some annoying parents cry about it being inappropriate [sic].’

Details for season five have been kept completely under wraps (Picture: Netflix)

As Wutthefvckjushapen added: ‘I was a little surprised the previous season didn’t come with a warning lol.’

Addressing the confusion, a Netflix ‘support agent’ told What’s On Netflix: ‘Netflix often applies a global rating to an entire show based on its overall content, but the individual episodes may have different ratings depending on the specific content in each episode.

‘In the case of Stranger Things, the show might be listed as TV-MA to reflect some of the more mature themes across all episodes (like violence, language, and intense scenes).

‘However, the individual episodes could be rated TV-14 based on the content of those specific episodes.’

Stranger Things first debuted in 2016 (Picture: Netflix)

While little else is known about Stranger Things season five, which will be premiering next year, Netflix recently confirmed the episode titles for the final series.

The remaining instalments are titled The Crawl, The Vanishing of _____, The Turnbow Trap, Sorcerer, Shock Jock, Escape From Camazotz, The Bridge and The Rightside Up.

What could they possibly mean?!

Stranger Things is available to stream on Netflix now.

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