'Stranger Things' Season 4: Netflix adds last-minute 'violence' disclaimer to show after Texas school shooting
Warning: Spoilers ahead
'Stranger Things' Season 4 Volume 1, described as the series’ darkest season yet premieres at midnight Friday, May 27, after a nearly three-year hiatus. However, the premiere will be preceded by a new content warning.
Netflix has decided to add a last-minute disclaimer to the first episode of the latest season of 'Stranger Things', in wake of the school shooting in Texas this week that left 21 people dead, including 19 children. A Netflix spokesperson said: “We decided to add the card given the proximity of the premiere to this tragedy – and because the opening scene is very graphic.”
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The last-minute change was announced less than a week after Netflix released the first eight minutes of the premiere episode, which features graphic images of dead children at the Hawkins lab. Netflix has now deleted the sneak peek.
“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,” the content warning will reportedly read. “We are deeply saddened by this unspeakable violence, and our hearts go out to every family mourning a loved one.” Additionally, it has been reported that Netflix has edited the episode 1 description, which now includes the following note: “Warning: Contains graphic violence involving children.”
The first episode of the show’s fourth season will premiere worldwide on Friday, May 27, just days after the mass shooting at Robb elementary school in Uvalde. The season reportedly opens with a telekinetic massacre that includes the depiction of several dead children covered in blood.
After the Uvalde shooting on Tuesday, May 24, Lifetime had also delayed the release of their TV movie 'The Bad Seed Returns', which is about a murderous high school student. Meanwhile, CBS also pulled the season finale of 'FBI', which reportedly included a storyline involving a student’s possible involvement in a deadly robbery.
Volume 1 of ‘Stranger Things’ Season 4 will be streaming exclusively on Netflix on Friday, May 27.