Stranger Things season 5 has wrapped filming as Netflix doubles down on the hugely popular show's return in 2025, and now I'm even more excited for its return

• Netflix has confirmed Stranger Things season 5 has wrapped production
• Filming on the hugely popular show's final chapter has taken a whole year
• Netflix has also announced it'll arrive sometime in 2025

It's official: Stranger Things season 5's mammoth year-long shooting schedule has ended. In even bigger celebratory news, Netflix has confirmed one of its flagship TV Originals will return sometime in 2025.

Okay, we already knew that Stranger Things' last installment would air next year. Indeed, on November 6, aka Stranger Things Day, Netflix revealed that the main show's fifth and final chapter would make its debut in 2025. Nevertheless, it's pleasing to see Netflix double down on its commitment to release Stranger Things season 5 at some point in the next 12 months. Hey, making TV shows is hard, so there's never any guarantee that a series' next season will be released when people say it will.

To commemorate the end of principal photography, Netflix released a bunch of new behind-the-scenes images of Stranger Things 5's cast and crew on social media. There's absolutely nothing new we can glean about the final season's plot from this photo dump, but at least everyone appears to be having fun on the set. It's a good thing they are, too, because one of the best Netflix shows' fifth entry is going to be its darkest and most emotional yet. That's what I'm hoping for, anyway, because it would be frustrating if Stranger Things bowed out with a whimper, rather than a bang.

It's been a long road to Stranger Things season 5. The hugely popular sci-fi supernatural horror show's fourth season launched in May 2022 – well, part 1, comprising six episodes, did. You can read my thoughts on those entries in my Stranger Things season 4 review. Its final two episodes arrived two months later and you can read about how it sets up season 5 via my Stranger Things season 4 volume 2 ending explained article.

Surprising no one, Netflix renewed its massively successful TV Original for a fifth albeit final season weeks later. Unfortunately, Stranger Things 5's development was significantly impacted by the 2023 Hollywood strikes, which is why Stranger Things' fifth season couldn't make its debut in 2024. With filming on Stranger Things season 5 not starting until January of this year, I was really worried that we wouldn't see it until 2026 at the earliest. Thankfully, that won't be the case.

As long as the wait has been, we've been given small morsels of information about season 5 to tide us over until its arrival on the world's best streaming service. For one, on July 2, Maya Hawke, who plays Robin, said season 5's episodic runtimes will be huge, with the actor describing them as "basically, eight movies". Two weeks later, Netflix dropped a behind-the-scenes video of season 5 that teased new characters, fan-favorite team-ups, and a possible time jump, too.

Let's not forget that the first Stranger Things spin-off – a stage play prequel titled 'The First Shadow' – has also been available to watch on London's West End. It'll make its Broadway debut in early 2025, so be sure to read our review of The First Shadow before you check it out. Even if you do, I think Netflix will need to address some of The First Shadow's big lore reveals in season 5, otherwise Stranger Things 5 will run into the big Marvel and Star Wars problem.

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