Stranger Things has been renewed for a fifth season, but it will be the show’s last one — so why is it ending after just five seasons?
Stranger Things has been renewed for a fifth and final season, and here’s why Eleven and his friends’ narrative will come to an end after five seasons. Stranger Things was one of the most popular and profitable TV programs on Netflix in recent years, and it caught everyone off guard. Stranger Things, a sci-fi horror TV series created by the Duffer Brothers, premiered on Netflix in 2016 and quickly gained a following thanks to its 1980s setting and the nostalgia that comes with it, its horror influences, and its unique premise, which combines real-life conspiracy theories, experiments, and sci-fi and horror elements.
Stranger Things follows a group of teens and the adults closest to them as they discover a series of sinister experiments and plots emanating mostly from Hawkins Lab in the fictitious town of Hawkins, Indiana. Stranger Things has its own mythology, presenting realms like the Upside Down and monsters like the Demogorgon and the Mind Flayer, as well as humans with abilities, although with a terrible genesis story. Stranger Things’ popularity has enabled it to run for four seasons, with season 5 bringing it all to a close.
Due to the coronavirus epidemic, Stranger Things season 4 has been delayed multiple times, so fans have been patiently (or not so patiently) waiting for news on its release and narrative for months. With the announcement of the release date for Stranger Things season 4, Netflix also announced that the popular show has been renewed for a fifth and final season. The Duffer Brothers announced the news in a letter to fans, but the fact that Stranger Things will end with season 5 shouldn’t come as a surprise, given the Duffers have hinted at it many times before.
Stranger Things’ Millie Bobby Brown In a 2017 interview with E!, the Duffers were asked when Stranger Things will conclude, since there had already been speculations that season 4 would be the last season, to which Ross Duffer said, “four to five seasons is likely where we’ll wind up.” Producer Shawn Levy revealed to Collider in 2021 that the Duffer Brothers had “the finish in sight” and that “there is an endgame,” thus Stranger Things is coming to a close with season 5. The actors’ ages, especially after the season 4 delays, might be a contributing cause to Stranger Things ending, since they will have a direct influence on how their characters are portrayed. The core cast is also receiving more and more possibilities outside of Hawkins, and their schedules may get in the way if Stranger Things is renewed for a sixth season, putting their character arcs and the overarching plot of Hawkins at danger of losing public interest and even quality.
Stranger Things season 5 is therefore the ideal time to wrap up the series and avoid issues like oversaturation of the audience, cast departures, and the tale being stretched to cover more area — after all, it seems like the series has been going toward a “early” finale since season 2. It’s unclear when the final season of Stranger Things will air, but there shouldn’t be as much of a gap between seasons 4 and 5 as there was in prior seasons.
