Stranger Things is back.
The hotly-anticipated science fiction series has returned to Netflix, with all nine episodes now available to binge-watch on the video on-demand service.
Netflix currently offers a free one-month trial to new subscribers, which should be plenty of time to binge your way through the latest episodes.
Netflix subscriptions start from £5.99 for a basic plan, which doesn’t even include High Definition, and max-out at £9.99 for a plan that includes Ultra HD 4K content.
Subscribers can cancel at any time during the month.
Netflix is available on a dizzying array of Smart TVs and HDMI streaming dongles, as well iOS and Android devices, video game consoles, and via your web browser.
Stranger Things has also proved popular with online pirates, looking to download or stream the season for free.
Let’s be clear – this is illegal.
Watching paid-for content for free without permission from the rights holders is a crime.
There have been a number of high-profile changes in UK law since the last season of Stranger Things aired back in October 2016.
Some of these have drastically increased penalties to those who decided to infringe copyright.
In March 2017, the UK High Court of Justice ruled that Internet Service Providers were to block access to illegal live streams of English Premier League football.
As part of the judgment, Mr Justice Arnold clarified that an end user accessing streams via illicit streaming devices – like so-called Kodi Boxes – carry out an act of copying which is not authorised is infringing copyright, meaning those viewing illegal streams are breaking the law.
One month later, in April 2017, the EU Court of Justice judgement in the Filmspeler case included confirmation that streaming by end users constitutes an infringement of copyright.
The new Digital Economy Act which came into effect on October 1st 2017, has extended criminal penalties for online copyright infringement to match those of physical copyright infringement – maximum sentences have increased from two years to 10 years.
Speaking about the impact of online piracy earlier this year, FACT CEO Kieron Sharp said: “If everyone stole content, programmes like Game of Thrones wouldn’t exist, and neither would a huge number of jobs in the creative economy.
“Not just the stars on screen, but make-up artists, carpenters – all those names you see in the credits, plus many, many more who are indirectly involved in production.
“Content piracy is theft.”
The news comes as a High Court has ordered a British man to pay £16,000 for illegally streaming Sky Sports online.