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The end of Stranger Things: all the news from the Netflix show’s fifth and final season
A decade after it first premiered, Netflix’s most impactful show is coming to an end. The fifth and final season of Stranger Things is being split apart into a three-part event that spans multiple holidays: it premieres on November 26th, with a second batch of episodes on Christmas, followed by the final episode on December…
A decade after it first premiered, Netflix’s most impactful show is coming to an end. The fifth and final season of Stranger Things is being split apart into a three-part event that spans multiple holidays: it premieres on November 26th, with a second batch of episodes on Christmas, followed by the final episode on December 31st. While there are spinoffs on the way, the end of Stranger Things marks a pivotal shift for Netflix, as the streaming service moves into a new era that’s less defined by singular blockbusters. You can keep up with all of our coverage of Stranger Things 5 right here.
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In addition to the house the set comes with buildable versions of Steve’s car and the WSQK radio station van. Image: Lego -
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Stranger Things 5 begins with a frantic race to the finish line
Image: Netflix
It has been a decade since the Stranger Things phenomenon began, and the Duffer brothers have had ample time to craft a strong finish to their breakout hit series. But the beginning of the show’s fifth and final season feels like a frantic race to the end.
While Stranger Things wasn’t Netflix’s first breakout hit, it catapulted the streamer to a new level of pop cultural prominence by telling a wildly captivating story that got everyone talking. Modern day nostalgia for the ‘80s never really went away, but Stranger Things kicked off a new wave of shows and movies that made it feel like other studios were doing everything in their power to re-create the Duffer Brothers’ success. Stranger Things was a momentous phenomenon that didn’t show many signs of losing steam over the course of its first few seasons.
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Stranger Things is ending, and so is Netflix’s reliance on tentpole shows
When Stranger Things first premiered in 2016, Netflix was still courting new subscribers with splashy original projects that were meant to have broad audience appeal. The company had solidified itself as a major player in the streaming wars with massive hits like House of Cards, Orange Is the New Black, and a collection of live-action Marvel series. The shows were all very different, but they each felt like part of an ambitious plan to establish Netflix as the gravitational center of a new pop cultural era.
Those big, watercooler tentpole projects made Netflix feel like a platform worth subscribing to because of how large they loomed in the public consciousness. Especially in its early seasons, Stranger Things was thrilling to watch as a new sci-fi / horror series steeped in nostalgia. But it was also fascinating to see the show become a global phenomenon that dominated online discourse and inspired other studios to tell more stories set in the ’80s.
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The Stranger Things series finale is coming to theaters
Image: Netflix
Netflix is bringing the Stranger Things series finale to theaters. The show’s final episode will hit theaters at the same time it premieres on the streaming service on December 31st at 8PM ET. It’ll be available in more than 350 theaters across the US and Canada, and will run through January 1st, 2026.
The finale, titled “The Rightside Up,” is two hours long and marks the first time a Netflix episode premieres simultaneously on its platform and in theaters, according to Deadline. Netflix previously held screenings for Stranger Things 4: Volume 2 and gave some of its original films, like KPop Demon Hunters, Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery, and Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein, a brief theatrical run, mainly to maintain awards eligibility.
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Stranger Things 5’s first trailer promises an epic showdown
It’s been a long time coming, but we finally have a real look at the end of Stranger Things. Netflix just released the first teaser trailer for the show’s fifth season, which will also be its last when it starts streaming later this year. As was alluded to in the finale of season 4, the new trailer — which, despite being called a teaser, clocks in at nearly three minutes long — is focused on the major showdown with Vecna that will presumably end the string of supernatural bad luck in Hawkins, Indiana for good.
Here’s the official setup for the finale, according to Netflix:
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Stranger Things season 5 will stream this November
Stranger Things’ fifth and final season finally has a premiere date.
During its live Tudum event, Netflix announced that Stranger Things’ fifth season will actually be split into three parts. Volume 1 is set to debut on November 26th, Volume 2 premieres on December 25th, and The Finale drops on New Years Eve. Along with the premiere dates, Netflix also shared a teaser showing off some of what Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown), Mike (Finn Wolfhard), Dustin, (Gaten Matarazzo), Lucas (Caleb McLaughlin), Will (Noah Schnapp), and Max (Sadie Sink) are going to be up against when the show returns.
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The end of Squid Game and Stranger Things solidifies Netflix’s new era
Netflix has a busy year of premieres ahead, but it might be most notable for what’s ending. As the streaming service continues to push into a new era full of live events, reality TV, and ad sales, it’s also saying goodbye to arguably its two biggest franchises, with both Stranger Things and Squid Game wrapping up in 2025. Once upon a time, tentpole hits like those series were pivotal for Netflix — people signed up for them and often unsubscribed when they went away.
But singular blockbusters aren’t as necessary for the company’s overall success any longer. And it’s possible we might not see anything quite like those two shows again.
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Netflix confirms Stranger Things season 5 is coming in 2025
Image: Netflix
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The Stranger Things cast is looking real grown up ahead of season five.
We all knew the Stranger Things kids would look a bit older for the show’s fifth and final season, but seeing them all back in Hawkins High in this new behind the scenes video really emphasizes how the show’s last chapter can’t get here fast enough.
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The final season of a TV show? I’ve seen stranger things.
The fifth (and final) chapter of the Stranger Things saga is officially underway. Netflix confirmed that season 5 of the retro sci-fi series is in production starting today, though that’s about all we know about it right now (aside from the casting of Linda Hamilton). In the meantime, you can stare at this cast photo in hopes of sussing out some clues.
Image: Atsushi Nishijima / Netflix
Maybe this’ll make sense in Stranger Things Season 5?
Dart Zone is about to sell a pair of Stranger Things themed blasters — one fires darts out of a mini Demogorgon head that opens when you squeeze the trigger, the other out of a foam baseball bat covered in nails. That sounds safe! (FWIW, the nails are squishy.)
Guessing it’s just a cash-in, but maybe Season 5 will see the group wield such gadgetry? Here’s hoping.
The Stranger Things stage play could tease some season 5 plot points.
But a new teaser trailer for the stage play that describes it as holding the “key to what comes next” definitely makes it sound like it might either connect directly with the show’s upcoming fifth season, or its upcoming animated spin-off.
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