Stranger Things Season 4 on Netflix to open with a warning card. Reason? Texas shooting

The Texas school shooting, in which 19 children and 2 teachers of Robb Elementary School were killed by an 18-year-old shooter, has led to Netflix making some changes to its hit show, Stranger Things: Season 4.

Netflix has added a content warning in the beginning of Stranger Things: Season 4, the premiere of which is all set to happen on May 27. The disclaimer reads, “Warning: Contains graphic violence involving children”, and will only be flashed for viewers in the US.

The warning will also read, “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.”

A Netflix spokesperson explained, “We decided to add the card given the proximity of the premiere to this tragedy and because the opening scene is very graphic.”

The warning card will appear just before the Season 3 recap, which will be auto-played by the streaming service, just before Season 4 of the show begins.

Other than adding the warning card, Netflix has also removed the first 8 minutes of the opening scene of the Season 4 premiere because of graphic images of dead children. It had released the scene as a sneak peek video on its YouTube channel.

Here is the original video (viewer discretion advised):

Stranger Things: Season 4 is divided into two volumes. Volume 1 debuts on May 27, and Volume 2 will start streaming on July 1.

The Texas school shooting is the second deadliest school shooting to occur in the US since 2012. All 19 children who were killed were in 2nd, 3rd and 4th grade and multiple politicians have released statements asking for gun control in the US.