"Stranger Things" Season 3 is gearing up to start production in April, for an unknown premiere date on Netflix. The cast and producers talked a bit more about what's ahead Sunday during a PaleyFest panel.

As previously reported, Season 3 is jumping ahead about a year, with EP Shawn Levy saying Season 3 would be set during the summer of 1985. So that's why "Back to the Future," which came out that year, will be a point of reference, the way "Ghostbusters" was a timeline benchmark for Halloween in Season 2.

Levy gave status updates on the relationships that formed in Season 2, between Eleven/Jane (Millie Bobby Brown) and Mike (Finn Wolfhard), and Lucas (Caleb McLaughlin) and Max (Sadie Sink):

"Mike and Eleven and are going strong, so that's a relationship that continues, and same with Mad Max and Lucas. But again, they're like 13- or 14-year-old kids, so what does romance mean at that stage of life? It can never be simple and stable relationships and there's fun to that instability."

According to THR, the cast members hadn't seen any scripts at this point, so Millie Bobby Brown learned of her character's relationship status right there during PaleyFest.

Levy didn't seem to give an update on the romance between Nancy (Natalie Dyer) and Jonathan (Charlie Heaton), who are a bit older, but he did assure fans that "Dad Steve" (or, as we prefer, "Single Mom Steve") would continue:

"We'll definitely get to see some more of Steve Harrington in Season 3, and I'll just say we won't be abandoning the Dad Steve magic. I don't want to say much more, but I literally feel that we were walking along and we stumbled onto a gold mine with Dad Steve."

Levy's love for Steve runs deep, as it should. Here's what he told TVLine of Joe Keery's character:

"Honestly, the day Steve Harrington dies is the day I walk off this show. I just can't live in a world without Steve Harrington. And I think a lot of us feel that way."

Check out more mini updates from the cast and execs from Variety's red carpet interviews:

TVLine previously reported that Season 3 will have eight episodes, one fewer than Season 2, with production slated to begin mid-April.

It was also recently revealed that Maya Thurman-Hawke -- daughter of Uma Thurman and Ethan Hawke -- will be playing the new character of Robin, "an alternative girl who is equal parts sharp and playful. Bored with her mundane day job, she just wants a little excitement in her life... and gets more than she bargained for when she uncovers a dark secret in Hawkins." Also, Priah Ferguson will have a larger presence as Lucas' scene-stealing little sister Erica.

In other Season 3 news, we know Will Byers (Noah Schnapp) will finally get a break this year, and Mrs. Wheeler (Cara Buono) will reportedly have a more substantial storyline after that sexy tease with Billy Hargrove (Dacre Montgomery) in Season 2.

[Via: The Hollywood Reporter]

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