Netflix has been home to some of the most popular and successful TV shows in recent years, and one that took the world by surprise was Stranger Things. Created by the Duffer Brothers, Stranger Things is a sci-fi horror TV series that debuted on Netflix in 2016 and caught the attention of the audience thanks to its 1980s setting and the nostalgia that comes with it, its horror influences, and its unique premise that mixes real-life conspiracy theories, experiments, and sci-fi and horror elements.
Stranger Things takes viewers to the fictional town of Hawkins, Indiana, to follow a group of teenagers and the adults closest to them as they uncover a series of dangerous experiments and plans coming, primarily, from Hawkins Lab. Stranger Things has its own mythology, introducing places like the Upside Down and creatures like the Demogorgon and the Mind Flayer, as well as having characters with superpowers, although the origin of those special skills is a traumatic one. The success of Stranger Things has allowed it to continue for four seasons, and it’s all coming to an end with season 5.
Production of Stranger Things ending with season 5 shouldn’t really come as a surprise, as it had been hinted at many times before by the Duffers themselves.
Back in 2017, in an interview with when Stranger Things would come to an end, as there were already rumors about season 4 being the last, to which Ross Duffer replied that “four to five seasons is likely where we’ll end up”. Speaking to Collider in 2021, producer Shawn Levy confirmed that the Duffers had “the end in sight” and that “there is an endgame”, so it makes sense that Stranger Things is coming to an end with season 5. A possible contributing factor to Stranger Things ending are the ages of the actors, more so after all the delays season 4 went through, which will directly impact the portrayal of their characters. The main cast are also getting more and more opportunities outside Hawkins, and their schedules could come in the way if Stranger Things continues beyond season 5, putting the arcs of their characters and the overall story of Hawkins at risk of losing the interest of the audience and even its quality.
Stranger Things season 5, then, is the right moment to end the series and avoid problems like oversaturating the audience, the cast leaving, and the story being stretched to cover more ground – after all, it feels like the series has been heading towards this “early” ending since season 2. It’s unknown when the final season of Stranger Things could be released, but hopefully, there won’t be a big gap between seasons 4 and 5 like with previous ones.