Stranger Things Inches Closer to Its Final Farewell as Season 5 Premiere Date Is Unveiled

Published: June 1, 2025

Mark your calendars, because we officially have a premiere date for Stranger Things season 5! Netflix announced at its Tudum 2025 live event on Saturday, May 31, that the show's final season will air in three parts: Volume 1 on Nov. 26, Volume 2 on Christmas, and the series finale on New Year's Eve.

Finn Wolfhard, Caleb McLaughlin, and Noah Schnapp shared their favorite memories from the show and hyped up the final season at the live event, before a teaser clip was unveiled, showing all the drama that's to come.

Their co-stars Gaten Matarazzo and Millie Bobby Brown also made an appearance via pre-recorded video messages, expressing their love for the fans who have supported them through the years.

The streamer announced in January 2024 that production had begun on Stranger Things season 5, sharing a black-and-white photo of the cast.

Co-creator Ross Duffer — one-half of the Duffer Brothers alongside Matt Duffer — then confirmed in December of that year that production had wrapped.

Winona Ryder, David Harbour, Finn Wolfhard, Millie Bobby Brown, Gaten Matarazzo, Caleb McLaughlin, Natalia Dyer, Charlie Heaton, Noah Schnapp, Sadie Sink, Joe Keery, and Maya Hawke are all set to return for season 5, as well as Brett Gelman, Priah Ferguson, Cara Buono, Amybeth McNulty, and Jamie Campbell Bower.

In June 2023, Netflix announced that Terminator star Linda Hamilton was joining the cast. Other newcomers include Nell Fisher, Jake Connelly, and Alex Breaux.

A teaser shared in November 2024 revealed the titles for all eight episodes of season 5, ending with the series finale titled "The Rightside Up." This brings the show full circle, as the season 1 finale was titled "The Upside Down."

"In the fall of 1987, one last adventure begins," read on-screen text in the teaser, revealing a time jump for the show after the previous season was set in the spring of 1986.

Hawke told PEOPLE in June 2024 that filming the final season had been "heartbreaking" for her.

"I mean, it's the end of a really long journey. Longer for some of my castmates, even, than me. It's really sentimental," she said. "We shoot for a long time, so it's reinvigorating [to bring] the joy and finding it every day and making it new. It's a really fun thing to do."

While Stranger Things may be coming to a close on Netflix, the story lives on in Stranger Things: The First Shadow. The play debuted on London's West End in 2023 and transferred to Broadway earlier this year.

Seasons 1-4 of Stranger Things are now streaming on Netflix, and season 5 volume 1 premieres on Nov. 26.

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