When Can We Expect Stranger Things Season 5?
Stranger Things season 5 has officially started filming, and that will make it easier to predict the release window of the Netflix show's upcoming final season. Production on season 5 is a long time coming, but filming was delayed due to the writers' and actors' strikes that took place throughout 2023. Stranger Things' cast and crew couldn't begin working on the next outing until studios offered SAG-AFTRA and the WGA fair deals. The writers' strike ended after the WGA struck a deal in September 2023, but Hollywood couldn't resume filming until SAG-AFTRA came to an agreement with the studios in November.
Production and Filming Delays
Stranger Things season 5 has officially started filming, and that will make it easier to predict the release window of the Netflix show's upcoming final season.
Millie Bobby Brown as Eleven looking determined in Stranger Things season 4
Production on season 5 is a long time coming, but filming was delayed due to the writers' and actors' strikes that took place throughout 2023. Stranger Things' cast and crew couldn't begin working on the next outing until studios offered SAG-AFTRA and the WGA fair deals. The writers' strike ended after the WGA struck a deal in September 2023, but Hollywood couldn't resume filming until SAG-AFTRA came to an agreement with the studios in November.
Studios have wasted little time resuming work on their biggest projects, and Stranger Things is one of the highest-priority TV shows on the heels of the strikes. Season 5 will bring the beloved Netflix hit to a close, and the stakes couldn't be higher on the heels of Stranger Things season 4. The show's official Twitter account revealed that production started on January, 8, 2024. With things finally moving along, viewers can make a guess about when the new episodes will hit Netflix.
Potential Release Window
Although Stranger Things season 5 is still a ways away from receiving a definitive release date, its January 2024 production start offers clues about when the final episodes will arrive. Previous seasons of the show have spent around seven months filming, with Stranger Things season 4's production going slower and facing delays due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Filming for season 2 was announced on Twitter in November 2016, and Stranger Things finished filming its sophomore outing that June. Likewise, season 3 started filming in April 2018 and concluded in November that year.
Jonathan, Will, Nancy, Eleven, Joyce, Hopper, and Mike looking up at the sky in the final scene of Stranger Things season 4.
Stranger Things season 4 filmed for a month between February and March 2020 before shutting down due to COVID-19. It then picked up in September 2020, but season 4 production didn't wrap until the following September. This timeline is longer than usual, so Stranger Things season 5 probably won't take a full year to film. However, given the larger scope of recent outings, season 5 will probably fall between previous seasons' seven-month stints and season 4's elongated timeline. This will take the cast into late summer or early fall 2024. With post-production happening after, Stranger Things season 5's release window is likely to be during spring 2025.
Anticipation for Season 5
It's been an agonizing wait for the show's final season even ahead of filming, and the cliffhanger ending of Stranger Things season 4 isn't making things any easier. Still, season 5 will undoubtedly be worth the wait, especially with the stakes established beforehand. And it's probably for the best that Netflix isn't rushing the final episodes out. The show's next chapter has a lot of heavy lifting to do, as it needs to save Hawkins from Vecna and wrap up the characters' individual arcs. Given the show's popularity, its ending should be approached with care. If that means waiting longer for Stranger Things season 5's release date, so be it.
