As Stranger Things comes to a wrap, let’s look at what it took to get to this point:
The show first aired as a Netflix Original on November 26, 2016. The directors, Matt and Ross Duffer, pitched the idea to Netflix, stemming from their love of the ‘80s during their childhood. The show revolves around a group of friends searching for their friend, Will Byers, in 1983 Hawkins, Indiana, where they discover a secret government experiment that has resulted in another dimension, known as the “Upside Down.” Since then, the show has gained a massive following, which brought it to the number one spot on Netflix for TV shows with each passing season.
Starring actors such as Millie Bobby Brown, Noah Schnapp, Finn Wolfhard, Caleb McLaughlin, and Gaten Matarazzo, Stranger Things allowed the actors to not only gain attention but to grow as individuals. The main child cast members were eleven to fourteen years old when season one aired. Now, they are all in their twenties, including Millie Bobby Brown having recently married Jake Bongiovi and adopted a daughter together.
With the show taking nearly a decade to finish, both the fans and the actors have finally seen the long-awaited finale. But first, a wrap on season five. Season five started with a recap of the events in season four, essentially showing the aftermath. Viewers were then quickly dragged into the fast-paced storyline in the first volume, which was released on November 26, 2025. The first volume ended on a major cliffhanger, one which fans have been suspecting for years.
Volume two continued on December 25 making for a memorable Christmas season for fans watching. This volume heavily focuses on the plans to resolve the main conflict of the plot. More characters are added to the main party, like Vicky and Mr. Scott Clark, who contributed to the cause. The ending of this volume answers many questions that fans have had for years concerning the origins and lore behind the “Upside Down” dimension. With the final moments of episode seven setting up the series finale, fans didn’t have to wait long since the final episode was released on December 30.
The finale of Stranger Things brought a lot of heartbreak, grief, and nostalgia for the fans and cast alike. The episode had a total run time of two hours and eight minutes and was essentially split 50/50, with the first half of the episode being the showdown between the main group and the antagonist, and the second half serving as a way for the fans to see where each character ended up in life.
While fans have mixed feelings and other unanswered questions regarding the finale, others insist that it was the right ending for the show. Even though the main series has now ended, the Duffer Brothers and Netflix have announced an animated spinoff in the works. Stranger Things: Tales of ‘85’ will follow the main characters, albeit not with the original voice actors, and will take place between the timelines of seasons two and three of the series. The spinoff is set to release on Netflix sometime in 2026. Until then, fans can also watch the Broadway show, The First Shadow, which takes place before the original show and features the parents of the main characters in Stranger Things. Viewers everywhere are anxiously waiting to see what Netflix has planned for the show’s future.