‘Stranger Things 4’: Netflix Issues Content Warning In Wake Of Texas Shooting
By Denise PetskiMay 26, 2022 4:40pm
UPDATED with Stranger Things‘ premiere preview removed from YouTube: Ahead of its midnight premiere, Netflix has added a content warning to the fourth season of Stranger Things following the deadly school shooting in Uvalde, Texas.
The warning card reads: “We filmed this season of Stranger Things a year ago. But given the recent tragic shooting at a school in Texas, viewers may find the opening scene of episode 1 distressing. We are deeply saddened by this unspeakable violence, and our hearts go out to every family mourning a loved one.”
The warning card will be on the service when the new season premieres at midnight PT tonight. The card appears before the Season 3 recap that auto-plays at the beginning of season 4, episode 1 for viewers in the U.S. only.
Netflix also has edited the description for episode 1 to include: “Warning: Contains graphic violence involving children” and also has added “disturbing images” to the show rating advisories.
The card was added given the proximity of the launch to the Texas tragedy, and because the opening scene is very graphic, we’re told.
Additionally, original video of the first eight minutes of the Season 4 premiere, which contained graphic images of dead children, was removed from Stranger Things’ YouTube page following the shooting. Deadline and other websites had previewed the sneak peek clip last week and the video is now unavailable and the clip marked “private.”
Nineteen children and two adults were killed Tuesday in a mass shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, TX.
In Season 4, per the logline, it’s been six months since the Battle of Starcourt, which brought terror and destruction to Hawkins. Struggling with the aftermath, our group of friends are separated for the first time – and navigating the complexities of high school hasn’t made things any easier. In this most vulnerable time, a new and horrifying supernatural threat surfaces, presenting a gruesome mystery that, if solved, might finally put an end to the horrors of the Upside Down.
Created by Matt and Ross Duffer, Stranger Things is produced by Monkey Massacre Productions & 21 Laps Entertainment. The twin brothers serve as writers, directors, executive producers and showrunners on the series alongside executive producer/director Shawn Levy and exec producer Dan Cohen of 21 Laps and exec producer Iain Paterson.
The first seven episodes of the nine-episode fourth season, which will air in two parts, will drop at midnight May 27 and the final two episodes will be released on July 1.
killed those kids. That's so fucked up.
