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Stranger Things: What does season 5 have in store for us?
After a fourth season that received mixed reviews, we’re hoping for both a terrifying and aesthetically-pleasing fifth season of Stranger Things. As the official trailer has just been revealed on July 16th, 2025, here’s everything we know about the new episodes scheduled for release later this year…
By Violaine Schütz,
and Jordan Bako.
Published on 16 July 2025. Updated on 3 November 2025.
What can you expect from Stranger Things season 5?
A season divided in 3 parts
Delayed by the writers’ strike that hit Hollywood in 2023, the fifth season of Stranger Things is finally taking shape. Netflix has confirmed that this new chapter is indeed in the making and is expected to air on the platform by the end of the year.
After more than three years of waiting, fans still need a bit more patience before discovering the conclusion to the cult series. The final season will be split into three parts, released on different dates on the streaming platform. First, four episodes will be released on November 27th, followed by three more on December 26th. Finally, the last episode will come out on January 1st, 2026, like a New Year’s gift.
The synopsis of the last chapter
The events of this closing chapter will take place in the fall of 1987, a year after the events of season 4. As the trailer released on October 30th shows, season 5 promises to be packed with drama and plot twists. Set to Queen’s Who Wants to Live Forever?, the 2-minute-54-second teaser unfolds the spectacular scenes and draws the audience all in.
The viewers will find the Hawkins crew one last time, ready to face the supernatural forces that still haunt their small Midwestern town, now under quarantine. With Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown) more powerful than ever and Max (Sadie Sink) still in a coma, their companions take up their improvised weapons – baseball bats and chainsaws. Also joined by an army of soldiers armed with flamethrowers, they will embark on one final battle. The only question that remains is whether this conclusion will finally give them a true happy ending…
It’s worth noting that the characters will be between 16 and 17 years old. Quite a contrast comparing the actors’ real ages. Indeed, Millie Bobby Brown and Finn Wolfhard, who were just 12 and 14 respectively when the first episodes came out, are now 21 and 23 years old.
Overview of season 5 of the series Stranger Things.
The grand finale of Netflix’s cult show
As a prelude to the release of this new opus, Netflix is dropping hints about the dangers Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown) and her friends will face. The show’s producers have unveiled the titles and runtimes of the episodes composing the final act of Stranger Things.
The first seven episodes are at least two hours long each, while the grand finale will run for three hours. Titled The Rightside Up, it directly echoes the final episode of the series’ first season, The Upside Down.
While season 5 is expected to mark the end of the series, the universe of Stranger Things still has a bright future. Indeed, this world imagined by the Duffer Brothers is expected to give birth to a stage play, an animated series, and possibly another series taking place in Japan.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h-2LIjOt0rAA first glimpse of the series Stranger Things season 5.
A colossal production
In the meantime, the previous seasons of Stranger Things are still available on Netflix. Remember, on July 1st, 2024, at 9:01 AM, the final two episodes of Stranger Things season 4 were released on the platform. Everyone was talking about them online. But were they really worth the attention, especially considering their respective length of 1 hour 25 minutes and 2 hours 19 minutes?
The first seven episodes of Stranger Things season 4 – which each cost a staggering sum of $30 million and collectively ran over 9 hours – have so far not been particularly convincing. The show’s special effects, which cost more per episode than Game of Thrones, are indeed colossal, but were they enough to impress the audience?
Kate Bush brought back into the spotlight by Stranger Things season 4
In season 4 of Stranger Things, the group of young characters, including Finn Wolfhard (Mike Wheeler) and Millie Bobby Brown (Eleven), have certainly grown up. But their main concerns remain the same – teen love stories, basketball games, and a lot of mood swings. It’s actually hard to keep up with their many antics, especially since the narrative thread is muddled and the “Upside Down” isn’t always introduced well. As much as we’re fans of Winona Ryder, her neurasthenic role in Stranger Things is far from her best. And hearing Kate Bush through the ears of actress Sadie Sink doesn’t quite move us either.
The main problem with this overly repetitive season 4 is its lack of inventiveness, emotion, and fun sequences. Riding high on its success and its sleek, sublime vintage aesthetic, Stranger Things once again leans heavily into the cult of the 1980s. With a sumptuous synth-heavy soundtrack, colorful clothes, questionable hairstyles, and overt references to Dungeons and Dragons, the formula keeps its charm but is more than a little tired now.
Moreover, the plots and dialogues in season 4 are so weak that it often feels more like Riverdale than Stranger Things. Not to mention the bad pacing, the lack of clarity in the narrative, and the strange mix of genres that take us from a political thriller remake reminiscing Russia to a 1980s teen comedy reminiscent of the cult (and silly) Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982).
Death and gore on the agenda for season 5
“Expect deaths and gore,” actor Noah Schnapp announced on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon about the upcoming season. In it, the gang of teenagers faces a new enemy: the terrifying sorcerer Vecna. But anyone who’s already seen films and series from the 1980s, such A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984), Alien (1979), Tales from the Crypt (1989), E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982), Gremlins (1984), Ghostbusters (1984), or The Goonies (1985), won’t be surprised by the kind of entertainment Stranger Things season 5 has in store.
The only truly delightful find in this big-budget performance? The character of Eddie Munson (the irresistible Joseph Quinn), a funny and cool metalhead reminiscent of characters from Wayne’s World (1992) and Airheads (1994). He brings a bit of spice, freshness, and rock’n’ roll humour to the season. Otherwise, that chapter only scratches the surface when it comes to deeper emotions.
Excessive fan service
As for the fan service – the practice of feeding fans’ passion and fantasies with unnecessary content specifically tailored for them – it kills any creative momentum or stylistic innovation. The final two episodes are technically very well done (in Stranger Things, style always precedes substance), but excessively violent and needlessly long and struggle to save the series.
It’s better to revisit 1980s masterpieces that elegantly portray the trials of adolescence, such as The Lost Boys (1987), Stand by Me (1986), The Breakfast Club (1985), Rumble Fish (1983), or The Outsiders (1983), than to wait for the season 5 and spin-offs of this sci-fi series already planned by Netflix.
Stranger Things, season 4, is available now on Netflix. Stranger Things, season 5, will come out on Netflix on November 27th and December 26th, 2025. The finale is scheduled for January 1st, 2026.
