Stranger Things season 4: Did it really cost $30 million an episode?

We hear so much about big-budget movies, but Stranger Things season 4 could very well change the way we think about TV shows. When you look at just how much it cost Netflix to make this upcoming season, your eyes may very well pop out of your skull.

According to a new report from the Wall Street Journal, the streaming service is spending a shocking $30 million per episode on the series, which features a high number of special effects to go alongside a large cast. While we knew that producing this show did not come cheap, we would not have put it above just about every other scripted show on television.

For those interested in comparing Stranger Things to some other series out there, note that Game of Thrones eventually saw its cost rise to around $15 million per episode for some of its final seasons, which included dragons and a mountain (pun intended) of extras. Apple TV+ is spending over $10 million an episode for The Morning Show, with the talent serving as one of the big reasons for the cost there. According to THR, some of the Marvel shows on Disney+ can cost around $25 million an episode, but they are basically recreating a big-budget Marvel movie on TV every week.

Through some of our research, there is only one show that seems locked-in at a higher price point right now than Stranger Things — Amazon’s upcoming Lord of the Rings adaptation. Early reports indicated that the first season of eight episodes cost around $465 million to make.  That is over $58 million an episode! Of course, you can also argue that Lord of the Rings, which already has a season 2 renewal, spent this much on season 1 to build sets and locations that will cost them less down the road.

So in the end, it can cost a LOT of money to make top-tier television these days, and the high Stranger Things price tag makes some of the recent struggles at Netflix in terms of their stock all the more fascinating. It also explains why the cost of their subscription continues to rise.

Related – Check out the latest Stranger Things trailer now

Are you shocked that Stranger Things cost this much money?

Be sure to share right now in the comments! Once you do just that, be sure to keep coming back for other updates. (Photo: Netflix.)

This article was written by Jessica BunBun. Be sure to follow her on Twitter.