Stranger Things Season 5 Release Schedule: Final Episodes Drop This Holiday

The Final Chapter: Stranger Things Returns for One Last Battle

Right, let’s talk about Stranger Things season 5, because after nearly a decade of Demogorgons and Upside Down nightmares, we’re finally getting closure. And honestly? It’s about bloody time.

Netflix is splitting the final season across three release dates, kicking off November 26th with four episodes. Christmas Day brings another three, and New Year’s Eve delivers the grand finale. Eight episodes total to wrap up the Hawkins gang’s story, with that last one getting a proper theatrical release in over 350 cinemas across the US and Canada.

Co-creators Matt and Ross Duffer have been sitting on the final scene for years apparently, which explains why this feels less like milking a franchise and more like they’ve genuinely been building toward something. “We’ve known for a really long time what the final scene was going to be,” Matt told The Hollywood Reporter, and you can feel that purpose in how they’ve structured this final run.

The episode titles alone tell you they’re going big: ‘The Crawl’, ‘The Turnbow Trap’, ‘Sorcerer’, leading up to ‘The Rightside Up’ for the finale. That last one screens in theatres at 8pm ET on December 31st, same time it drops on Netflix, which is a brilliant move for fans who want that communal experience.

After ten years of watching these kids grow up fighting interdimensional horrors, ending it on New Year’s Eve feels weirdly perfect. One chapter closes as another begins and all that. The Duffers admit they’re going to miss having that safety net of returning to these characters, and honestly, so will we.