‘Stranger Things’ Will Not ‘Go on Forever’

“Should I Stay or Should I Go” (as heard in Episode 2) was out of the question for the “Stranger Things” loyalists lined up outside New York City’s Samsung 837 event center some two hours before its creators, Matt and Ross Duffer, took the stage for a panel discussion.

While Netflix already has more than its fair share of scripted TV belt notches — i.e., “House of Cards,” “Orange Is the New Black,” and “Jessica Jones” — the cult-followed sci-fi series that exploded this past summer has given the streaming behemoth a huge hit.

“We’ve always thought of this like a ghost story.”

“Stranger Things” raked in a whopping 8.2 million viewers in its first 16 days; third best overall for Netflix, according to Business Insider. And now the show will soon begin shooting its sophomore season — introducing audiences to new characters while submerging them deeper into the kooky dimension known as The Upside Down.

The show’s ’80s-inspired theme isn’t exactly familiar ground to several of its fans and younger stars embodying it. Cast members Noah Schnapp (Will Byers), Millie Bobby Brown (Eleven), Finn Wolfhard (Mike Wheeler), Gaten Matarazzo (Dustin Henderson), and Caleb McLaughlin (Lucas Sinclair) were all born well after the respective time period.

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But the Duffer brothers — Matt and Ross — felt right at home Saturday when they plopped down — with Schnapp — on a plaid couch to take on audience queries and unveil never-before-seen footage.

During the packed info session, the Duffers, 34, gave some insight into its upcoming season — and on Barb’s (Shannon Purser) future. SPOILER ALERT! For those who weren’t sold on her demise, Matt Duffer said: “Thought we were pretty clear about that.”

When it comes to bringing some of TV’s most heinous creatures to the script, realism is a concept that the Duffers have strictly adhered to. Hailing from Durham, North Carolina, the identical twins realized early on that they were more terrified of the eerily normal than they were of the paranormal.

“Part of it was us looking back on monsters we loved as kids. It’s always scarier, the more ordinary something is,” explained Ross Duffer.

In terms of the “Stranger Things” story arc, it’s the mystique of an unknown that kept a majority of its fans hooked for its too-short eight-episode season. By Ross’ own admission, the Duffers have made it a point to steer clear of any bogus characterizations.

“To us, we’ve always wanted it grounded in science. For us, the supernatural has to believable to be scary.”

“The game plan, for what the build is, in terms of exactly how long that is, it’s still evolving.”

While the Chapman University alumni got their cinematic inspirations from Steven Spielberg, Stephen King, and George Lucas, among others, they’ve always tried to stick to their own method of storytelling — a combination of the spiritual and living.

“We’ve always thought of this like a ghost story. But instead of going into the spiritual realm, there’s something underneath this town that can and will affect their characters. We fell in love with the one thing that defined them all. So simple, nothing complicated,” said Matt Duffer.

Inevitably, the show’s admirers were itching to find out just what lies ahead for Hawking’s beloved residents. While the Duffers tried their best to remain mum, Ross did touch briefly on the program’s future landscape, sadly admitting that “Stranger Things” does have an expiration date.

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“Not the end of Season Two but the story-story, it’s not going to go on forever. The game plan, for what the build is, in terms of exactly how long that is, it’s still evolving.”

Upon its return, the “Stranger Things” storyline will pick up a year from where it left off — in 1984,  with a nine-episode installment. On Sept. 1, TVLine reported it would feature “three major new characters” including “Max,” a “‘tough and confident’ 12-14-year-old female whose ‘appearance, behavior and pursuits seem more typical of boys than of girls in this era.'”

While the Duffers didn’t elaborate on its newest cast members, Matt did acknowledge that Season Two production would begin sooner rather than later. “We’re going to start shooting hopefully soon.”

Whenever it is, it’s not soon enough for “Stranger Things” fans.