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. The season was produced by the show's creators, the Duffer Brothers, along with Shawn Levy and Dan Cohen.
The principal cast for the season includes 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, while the recurring cast includes Joe Chrest, Sherman Augustus, Alex Breaux, Jake Connelly, Amybeth McNulty, Randy Havens, and Linnea Berthelsen. The season received mixed reviews from critics, who praised the scale and emotional payoff, while criticism was aimed at the writing and some of the narrative decisions made. It received seven nominations for the 78th Primetime Emmy Awards, winning one (for Outstanding Special Visual Effects).
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 (2025) 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 (Stranger Things Day), 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 (Demogorgons, the Mind Flayer, and Demobats). 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 (Linda Hamilton), 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 (2011–2019), 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] 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 (1984) and Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991), as well as Darth Vader's entrance in the Star Wars film Rogue One (2016) 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 are not like Vecna's or Eleven's; he can only control what is 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 (2023) 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.
Casting
The fifth season features the return of Winona Ryder, David Harbour, Finn Wolfhard, Millie Bobby Brown, Gaten Matarazzo, Caleb McLaughlin, Noah Schnapp, Sadie Sink, Natalia Dyer, Charlie Heaton, Joe Keery, Maya Hawke, Priah Ferguson, Brett Gelman, Cara Buono, and Jamie Campbell Bower. When production began in January 2024, a set photo released by the team confirmed the return of Amybeth McNulty as Vickie. That same month, Eduardo Franco, who had a starring role as Argyle in the previous season, stated that he was not involved and that Argyle would not return.