As fans eagerly anticipate the conclusion of Netflix’s beloved sci-fi saga “Stranger Things,” the countdown to the final season’s release has begun.
Debuting in three segments this holiday season, the highly anticipated fifth season kicks off on Wednesday, November 26.
It’s been over three years since audiences last journeyed to Hawkins, Indiana. The fourth season, which premiered in 2022, left viewers on the edge of their seats as Vecna’s sinister plans nearly came to fruition, creating dangerous links between Hawkins and the Upside Down, despite the protagonists’ efforts to thwart him.
Here are the essential details for the series’ swan song.
The initial batch of this eight-episode season will be available on November 26 at 8 p.m. Eastern Time (5 p.m. Pacific Time), offering the first four episodes to fans.
What time does “Stranger Things” Season 5 come out?
The first volume of the eight-episode season drops Nov. 26 at 8 p.m. ET (5 p.m. PT), featuring the first four episodes.
Volume 2 follows on Christmas Day, Dec. 25, with three more episodes, and the series finale arrives on New Year’s Eve on Dec. 31.
For the first time ever, fans have multiple options to experience the series finale. The final episode, titled “The Rightside Up,” will premiere simultaneously on Netflix and in more than 350 theaters across the United States and Canada on Dec. 31 at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT, with screenings continuing through Jan. 1, 2026. The series finale runs about 2 hours, according to the Duffer Brothers, who created the show.
WATCH: “Stranger Things” Season 5 final trailer
What to expect from the final season of “Stranger Things”
Set in fall 1987, the final season finds the town of Hawkins “scarred by the opening of the Rifts” as the main characters unite to find and kill the villain Vecna, whose whereabouts remain unknown. Meanwhile, the government has placed the town under military quarantine and intensified its hunt for Eleven.
All major cast members return, including Millie Bobby Brown, David Harbour, Winona Ryder, Finn Wolfhard, 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.
Newcomers Linda Hamilton, Nell Fisher, Jake Connelly and Alex Breaux join the cast for the final season.
