‘Stranger Things’ Season 5 gets premiere date, split into three volumes

Title reveal for ‘Stranger Things’ Season 5
| Photo Credit: Netflix

Netflix has finally confirmed when fans will return to the Upside Down. Stranger Things Season 5 will premiere on November 26, and for the first time, the season will be split into three volumes.

Announced during Netflix’s Tudum fan event in Los Angeles, the final season of the hit sci-fi series will roll out in phases: Volume 2 arrives on Christmas Day, and the series finale will drop on New Year’s Eve. The season will consist of eight episodes total.

This marks the last chapter in the story of Hawkins, Indiana, where things have been anything but normal. The Duffer Brothers have promised a grand finale. “We spent a full year filming this season. By the end, we’d captured over 650 hours of footage,” Ross Duffer said. “So, needless to say, this is our biggest and most ambitious season yet. It’s like eight blockbuster movies.”

While many fans have mixed feelings about the split-season strategy, Netflix seems confident. Though Chief Content Officer Bela Bajaria has sidestepped direct questions about the format, she hinted earlier this year that split volumes may become more common.

Season 5 picks up in the fall of 1987, more than a year after Vecna tore open a gate to the Upside Down in the explosive Season 4 finale. New faces joining the ensemble include Linda Hamilton, Nell Fisher, Jake Connelly, and Alex Breaux. Returning are series staples Millie Bobby Brown, Finn Wolfhard, Winona Ryder, David Harbour, and more — with Jamie Campbell Bower back as the menacing Vecna.

Episode titles teased so far include: “The Crawl,” “The Vanishing of _____,” “The Turnbow Trap,” “Sorcerer,” “Shock Jock,” “Escape From Camazotz,” “The Bridge,” and “The Rightside Up.” The second title remains redacted, fueling speculation about who or what disappears.

Filming wrapped in December, and it’s been an emotional ride for cast and crew. “We’ve been making this show together for almost 10 years,” Matt Duffer said. “There was a lot of crying. There was so much crying. The show means so much to all of us.”

Though this season will close the book on Stranger Things, more stories set in the universe are already in the works. Just don’t expect them anytime soon.