Stranger Things fans think they might have discovered a clue telling us when we can expect season four to hit Netflix. The much-anticipated next run of the hit sci-fi series has been a long time coming, with it, unfortunately, being one of the most high-profile shows to be held up by the pandemic. After beginning at the top of 2020, filming took much of the next two years to complete. Work has now been finished on it, but we’re still waiting for an official release date.
But maybe a sneaky clue as to its due date was slipped into the teaser trailer that dropped last November. The trailer features a shot of a pizza van that veers off the road, with the pizzeria’s number plainly shown on its side: “805-45-PIZZA.” Obviously, fans immediately tried calling the number at the time, but it didn’t lead to anything interesting. If tried again now, however, it offers an intriguing tease at what’s to come.
Redditor u/mart_btar shared on the r/StrangerThings subreddit that they’ve given the number a call and it now plays “Happy Birthday music.” They wondered if it could be to do with “The Birthday”, the original title for season three’s sixth episode, “E Pluribus Unum.”
However, someone in the comments had an even more interesting idea. What if the birthday tune is telling us that season four will drop on the first season’s anniversary, aka July 15?
As another pointed out, July 15, 2022, is a Friday, which is when Netflix typically releases new seasons of its biggest shows.
A different fan who also called the number specified that the birthday music is “old timey”, which they suggest could reference season four’s Creel house subplot, which centers on a family who was murdered in the 1950s.
Another great point that was raised is that Will Byers’ birthday is in the spring. This same trailer confirmed that season four would be set in the spring, so it stands to rights that Will — who’s canonically born on March 22 — will celebrate his birthday this season.
There are various ways of interpreting this intriguing clue, then, but is it secretly telling us when to expect Stranger Things season four to land? Only time will tell.