It's been almost two and a half years since the last episode of Stranger Things aired, marking the longest wait between seasons the show has ever experienced. Though the gaps between seasons increased with every subsequent release, the length of this particular delay wasn't entirely the show's fault. Like everybody else, Stranger Things had to contend with the dual writers and actors strikes as its young cast rapidly aged beyond their characters' years. But on Friday, the streaming service announced that filming has finally wrapped on the fifth and final season, and confirmed that the show is "set to premiere in 2025."
Here's what we know about the fifth season so far (it's not much). It takes place in Fall 1987, more than a year after the events of the fourth season when the Upside Down appeared to be colonizing Hawkins. The Duffer Brothers have said that there will be "big reveals" concerning the "last remaining questions" about the Upside Down, which is "really going to affect what season five is about." Earlier this year, Netflix also released the titles for all eight episodes (well, most of the titles; one of them was partially obscured). The finale, "The Rightside Up," was previously described by the Duffers as a movie-length event that the expected was "going to be Return Of The King-ish with, like, eight endings."
As for the cast, they're of course touting this as "the best season yet." Speaking specifically about the series finale, David Harbour told People, "They land the plane, and it is the best episode they’ve ever done.” He added, “The end of this episode when we were reading it—just us reading it—about halfway through, people started crying. Then about the last 20 minutes, it was just uncontrollably crying, waves of different people."
In honor of the apparently highly emotional conclusion of Stranger Things, Netflix has released some behind-the-scenes photos from the filming of the fifth season. You can check them out below.
Atsushi Nishijima/Netflix
Clay Enos/Netflix
Andrew Cooper/Netflix
Andrew Cooper/Netflix
Atsushi Nishijima/Netflix
Atsushi Nishijima/Netflix
Clay Enos/Netflix
Atsushi Nishijima/Netflix
Niko Tavernise/Netflix
