Stranger Things season 5


The fifth and final season of the American science fiction horror drama television series Stranger Things, marketed as Stranger Things 5, was released on the streaming service Netflix in two volumes and the finale. The first set of four episodes was released on November 26, 2025, the second set of three episodes was released on December 25, and the finale was released on December 31. It was produced by the show's creators, the Duffer Brothers, along with Shawn Levy and Dan Cohen.
The season stars Winona Ryder, David Harbour, Millie Bobby Brown, Finn Wolfhard, Gaten Matarazzo, Caleb McLaughlin, Noah Schnapp, Sadie Sink, Natalia Dyer, Charlie Heaton, Joe Keery, Maya Hawke, Brett Gelman, Priah Ferguson, Linda Hamilton, Cara Buono, Jamie Campbell Bower, and Nell Fisher. Joe Chrest, Sherman Augustus, Alex Breaux, Jake Connelly, Amybeth McNulty, Randy Havens, and Linnea Berthelsen appear in recurring roles. The season received positive reviews from critics.

Premise

Set in November 1987, a year and eight months after the events of the fourth season, the group seeks to find and kill Vecna following the opening of rifts throughout Hawkins. Their mission becomes complicated when the military establishes a quarantine in town and begins hunting Eleven. As the anniversary of Will Byers' disappearance approaches, the group must unite for a final battle against the forces of the Upside Down.

Cast and characters

Main

  • Winona Ryder as Joyce Byers
  • * Birdy as young Joyce
  • David Harbour as Jim Hopper
  • Millie Bobby Brown as Eleven / Jane Hopper
  • Finn Wolfhard as Mike Wheeler
  • * Max Rackenberg as young Mike
  • Gaten Matarazzo as Dustin Henderson
  • Caleb McLaughlin as Lucas Sinclair
  • Noah Schnapp as Will Byers
  • * Luke Kokotek as 12-year-old Will
  • * Miles Marthaller as kindergarten-age Will
  • Sadie Sink as Max Mayfield
  • Natalia Dyer as Nancy Wheeler
  • Charlie Heaton as Jonathan Byers
  • * Graham Harvey as young Jonathan
  • Joe Keery as Steve Harrington
  • Maya Hawke as Robin Buckley
  • Brett Gelman as Murray Bauman
  • Priah Ferguson as Erica Sinclair
  • Linda Hamilton as Dr. Kay
  • Cara Buono as Karen Wheeler
  • Jamie Campbell Bower as Henry Creel / Vecna / One / Mr. Whatsit
  • * Raphael Luce as teenage Henry
  • * Maksime Blatt as young Henry
  • Nell Fisher as Holly Wheeler

    Also starring

  • Sherman Augustus as Lt. Colonel Jack Sullivan
  • Emanuel Borria as Sergeant Luis Ramirez
  • Alex Breaux as Lt. Robert Akers
  • Joe Chrest as Ted Wheeler
  • Jake Connelly as Derek Turnbow
  • Amybeth McNulty as Vickie Dunne
  • Randy Havens as Scott Clarke
  • Linnea Berthelsen as Kali Prasad / Eight

    Recurring

  • Calista Craig as Mary
  • Hope Hynes Love as Miss Harris
  • Eden Stephens as Debbie Miller
  • Gianlucca Gazzo as Glenn
  • Carson Minniear as Thomas
  • Anthony B. Jenkins as Joshua
  • Birdie Borria as Rebecca
  • Alyse Elna Lewis as Wendy

    Guest

  • Clayton Royal Johnson as Andy
  • Hunter Romanillos as Chance
  • Chantell D. Christopher as Doris
  • Caroline Elle Abrams as Tina Turnbow
  • Gray Hawks as Mr. Turnbow
  • Kelly Collins Lintz as Mrs. Turnbow
  • Aiden Armstrong as Danny Harrington
  • Kyle Riggs as Private Chapman
  • Callaway Corrick as Ashley Klein
  • Frederick Koehler as a scientist
  • Karen Ceesay as Sue Sinclair
  • Catherine Curtin as Claudia Henderson
  • Arnell Powell as Charles Sinclair
  • Sydney Bullock as Stacey
  • Tilly Morris as Sara Hopper

    Episodes

Production

Development

On February 17, 2022, Stranger Things creators Matt and Ross Duffer released an expansive letter that included, amongst other revelations, the fourth season's two-part release schedule, their intention to produce a spinoff series set in the world of the show for Netflix, and the renewal of the series for a fifth and final season. The duo had originally indicated the show was planned to run for a maximum four seasons, but a five season run was later teased by producers in 2017.
As with seasons past, planning for the fifth and final season of Stranger Things began before the preceding season's release. However, due to disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Duffers were able to completely outline the fifth season before the fourth had even begun shooting, which was a departure from their usual development cadence. They then revisited their outline and reworked the structure and events of season five based on feedback they received after the release of season four, even going so far as to alter the series' ending. In June 2023, it was announced that Dan Trachtenberg had been hired to direct an episode of the season. Executive producer Shawn Levy was confirmed to be directing at least one episode in the season by September 2023. However, after the movie Predator: Badlands was greenlit, Trachtenberg became unable to direct his episode, so it was directed instead by Frank Darabont. Darabont came out of retirement to direct two episodes, having been a huge fan of the series alongside his wife.

Writing

Writing for the fifth season began on August 2, 2022, about a month after the release of the fourth season's second volume. On November 6, 2022, it was announced that the first episode would be titled "Chapter One: The Crawl" and would be written by the Duffers. As noted by the Duffers in the WGFestival 2022, some unused ideas originally conceived for the second season were implemented in the fifth season's storylines. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic's effects on the entertainment industry, the Duffers had time to outline the fifth season before even the fourth season could be shot, edited and released, but once the fourth season was released, the Duffers received some feedback from both the fans and collaborators of the show, leading them to re-write some plans for the season, namely the series finale, and pitch them to Netflix, though they noted that most of their original plan stayed unchanged. The writers team described the tone of the season as if "season 1 and 4 had a baby" which was "injected with steroids". On May 6, 2023, the Duffers announced that writing for the season had been paused due to the 2023 Writers Guild of America strike. On September 27, the day the strike ended, the Twitter account of the Stranger Things writers' room posted an image stating "We're back", confirming that writing had resumed. Netflix reportedly would prioritize writing this script because Stranger Things was profitable and because the actors, though still young, could not continue to portray teenagers forever. On October 14, 2023, it was revealed that writing was over halfway done. The Duffer Brothers mentioned the ease of writing the split in parts of the season as opposed to the split that was "necessitated" in the fourth season due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The table read for episode 4 occurred on December 6, 2023, and the final table read occurred on September 8, 2024, in Stage 16 of the Atlanta production facilities used in previous Stranger Things seasons. It was attended by the Duffer Brothers, Levy, and the cast members. By this time, the actors had not read the script up to the finale since the Duffer brothers generally do not share their work with the cast. In August 2025, Ross mentioned that the first episode is the most "eventful" of the entire series along with the series premiere, and that the second has the "craziest cold open" they have done. With Variety, Matt revealed that we would see Mike Wheeler "became the leader again" but in a more "confident" and "mature" version than the one from the first season. The season will reveal the truth and what the Upside Down really is. It will also mark the end of the main characters' stories, with the finale wrapping up their stories, Vecna, and the creatures of the Upside Down. The military gains weight in the season establishing a military quarantine to try to cover the "portal disaster" and assigning a team, known as "The Wolf Pack" and led by Dr. Kay, to capture Eleven. Eleven now "has better control over her powers" and uses them "in more innovative ways", with Matt saying that the most accurate example would be "probably the Force". Finn Wolfhard said that one of the concerns was the finale would have a negative reception like the one of Game of Thrones, but when they read the script for the episode they knew that "it was something special", The Duffers mentioned that Vecna is now "stronger and scarier than ever" like "Freddy Krueger|Freddy on steroids" with, for example, his powers now being "effective" in the real world and not only in the Upside Down. Ross Duffer mentioned that Dustin Henderson is grieving and "struggling" over what happened to Eddie Munson, which will put "challenges" on his relationship with Steve Harrington and how it will be "destabilizing" that he will not be, as he has been in previous seasons, the one who keeps the group "together and keep everyone aligned". The Duffers mention that this season reveals what the Upside Down really is and why Vecna took Will Byers in the first season. Will is a central character of the season for the story to "go full circle" and explore his "connection and relationship" with Vecna. For Vecna, they drew inspiration from the "bad guys" in The Terminator and Terminator 2: Judgment Day, as well as Darth Vader's entrance in the Star Wars film Rogue One to showcase "his powers in full display".
The Duffers discussed Will's powers, a decision they had been considering for some time. They mentioned that his powers aren't like Vecna's or Eleven's; he can only control what's inside Vecna's and the Upside Down's hive mind, with Ross mentioning that his power source comes from Vecna, and it's as if he's "puppeteering" it. Noah Schnapp mentioned that he feels that the relationship between Will and Vecna are similar to the one Harry Potter and Lord Voldemort have in the Harry Potter franchise, and that more of those parallels would be shown throughout the season. The events of the prequel play Stranger Things: The First Shadow hint that that the Mind Flayer was the one who made Henry accept his dark side and connection to the Upside Down. Therefore, Matt hinted that the finale would reveal who "the real evil is": Vecna or the Mind Flayer.
Ross Duffer said they never intended the ending of Eleven to be with her staying with Mike and the rest of her friends, as it was necessary for her to "go away" so the group could "move on" and to close the story of Hawkins and the Upside Down.