Today, Netflix is saying goodbye to one of its biggest shows ever, with the finale of Stranger Things Season 5 airing in movie theaters and on the streaming platform itself. Stranger Things is and has been one of Netflix's most successful original series ever, with the first season being the third most-watched in the US when it came out, and the third being watched by over 40 million US households on release. While Stranger Things Season 5 is not being praised as much as past ones, its finale today will mark the end of the series as a whole, which is bittersweet for most viewers.

Stranger Things Season 1 came out in 2016 to an astounding 97% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes, 76 Metascore, and 8.9 User Score on Metacritic. Still praised for its innovative concept of mixing '80s-inspired sci-fi, drama, and Dungeons and Dragons, Stranger Things went on to become a gargantuan production for Netflix, which amassed almost 60 million views when Season 5 dropped and over 34 million on Christmas Day with Part 2. Despite Stranger Things Season 5 being review-bombed, the finale will drop just short of the new year, and you can watch it in movie theaters or at home, on Netflix.

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By Rachael Fiddis

Say Goodbye to Stranger Things in 2026

Stranger Things Season 5 Finale: Release Date, Time, Episode Name, Runtime

Netflix's official Stranger Things web page comes with a countdown to the official release time, which you can check here. For reference, though, here are the release date, time, and episode name for the big Stranger Things Season 5 finale:

Stranger Things Season 5 Finale
- Episode Name: Chapter Eight: The Rightside Up
- Release Date: December 31, 2025 (Americas) / January 1, 2026 (Europe, Africa, Asia, Oceania)
- Release Time: 5 pm PST / 8 pm EST (US time)
- Runtime: 2 hours and 8 minutes

Will and Vecna in Stranger Things Season 5

Even though Season 5 divided the fanbase with theories regarding Will and Mike becoming a couple in Stranger Things, the entire show being the story told in Mike's Dungeons and Dragons campaign from Season 1, or many core cast members dying in a "sacrifice" scene, it had a massive and undeniable impact on Netflix's viewership and viewer retention over the years. Netflix had one of its best Christmas Days ever in terms of viewership numbers, thanks to Stranger Things Season 5 Part 2 alone, but previous seasons of the show ended up being some of the most viewed shows on the platform in the week of December 22 through 28.

Today's finale will probably be one of the best results for Netflix in a long time, as the hype around Stranger Things Season 5 has only grown alongside the accompanying discourse online, good or bad. As such, it's sad to see the series go, and it will be the end of an era — one that lasted almost ten years. If you're sad about it, LEGO's Stranger Things Season 5 set comes out tomorrow, on January 1, 2026, and it's called Creel House, featuring most of the cast's minifigures as well as Creel House itself.

It's unclear what the future has in store for Stranger Things Dungeons and Dragons campaigns and video games, but seeing how popular the IP is, it's unlikely to die off after the finale. For now, though, you can watch the last Season 5 episode in movie theaters near you or on Netflix, as soon as five hours after this post's publication.

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