<P> Set in the fictional town of Hawkins, Indiana, in the 1980s, the first season focuses on the investigation into the disappearance of a young boy amid supernatural events occurring around the town, including the appearance of a girl with psychokinetic abilities who helps the missing boy's friends in their own search . The second season, titled Stranger Things 2, is set one year later, and deals with attempts of the characters to return to normality and consequences that linger from the first season . The Duffer Brothers developed the series as a mix of investigative drama alongside supernatural elements portrayed with childlike sensibilities . They established its time frame in the 1980s and created a homage to the pop culture of that decade . Several themes and directorial aspects were inspired and aesthetically informed by the works of Steven Spielberg, John Carpenter, and Stephen King, among others, including several films, anime and video games . </P> <P> The first season premiered on Netflix on July 15, 2016 . It received critical acclaim for its characterization, pacing, atmosphere, acting, soundtrack, directing, writing, and homages to 1980s genre films . The series has received 31 Emmy Award nominations, including for Outstanding Drama Series, four Golden Globe Award nominations, and won the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series in 2016 . </P> <P> On August 31, 2016, Netflix renewed the series for a second season of nine episodes, which was released on October 27, 2017 . In December 2017, Netflix ordered a third season, which began production in April 2018 and will consist of eight episodes, and is expected to be released in mid-2019 . The Duffer Brothers have said that Stranger Things is likely to end after its fourth or fifth season . </P> <P> Stranger Things is set in the fictional rural town of Hawkins, Indiana, during the early 1980s . The nearby Hawkins National Laboratory ostensibly performs scientific research for the United States Department of Energy, but secretly does experiments into the paranormal and supernatural, including those that involve human test subjects . Inadvertently, they have created a portal to an alternate dimension called "the Upside Down". The influence of the Upside Down starts to affect the unknowing residents of Hawkins in calamitous ways . </P>

How many episodes on season 2 of stranger things