Netflix has reportedly added a last-minute content warning to the premiere episode of the fourth season of Stranger Things in the wake of the tragic Texas school shooting.
The fourth season dropped on the streaming platform on Friday, May 27, just days after the Uvalde mass shooting at the hands of a teenage gunman, killing 21 people, including 19 children.
The warning card appears for Netflix subscribers in the US just before the recap of the third Stranger Things season, which auto-plays at the beginning of episode one, Variety reports.
The warning reads as follows: “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 streaming platform also edited the description for the series, which now reads: “Warning: Contains graphic violence involving children”, as well as “disturbing images” that inform the show's advisory age ratings (T-14).
Netflix made the decision to add the title card warning as the fourth season’s opening scene depicts a massacre involving Eleven's (Millie Bobby Brown) powers.
The telekinetic massacre includes the depiction of several dead children covered in blood.
A Netflix spokesperson told the Hollywood Reporter: “We decided to add the card given the proximity of the premiere to this tragedy – and because the opening scene is very graphic.”
Earlier this year, Netflix confirmed that Stranger Things season four would be split into two parts, with the latest season boasting some of the longest episode times in TV history.
Each episode is essentially a movie in its own right, after the streaming platform splurged hundreds of millions of dollars on the latest season.
An explanation for the split came from the Duffer Brothers themselves, the creators of the smash-hit series.
In a letter confirming that season five would be the last one, they also addressed the length of season four.
They wrote: “Given the unprecedented length, and to get it to you as soon as possible, Season 4 will be released in two volumes.”
The first seven episodes of Stranger Things are now available to stream on Netflix, with the final two episodes set for release on July 1.
