Stranger Things Season 5: Release Date, Full Cast, Everything to Know About Sci-Fi Series

The fifth and final installment of the globally acclaimed Stranger Things series is set to premiere next Wednesday, November 26, returning after a three-year hiatus to deliver the ultimate battle against Vecna, split across three separate holiday-season releases.

November 21, 2025: After three years of anticipation, the final chapter of the epic sci-fi saga, Stranger Things 5, is just days away. Netflix is preparing for its biggest release of the year, breaking with tradition to roll out the eight-episode season in three distinct parts over the Thanksgiving and holiday season.

The series is set to begin its highly emotional conclusion on Wednesday, November 26, with the remaining parts scheduled to debut on Christmas Day and New Year’s Eve.

The Three-Part Release Schedule

For the first time in the show’s history, the final season has been structured as a three-volume event, a choice the Duffer Brothers made to give the expansive story and its conclusion maximum impact and structure:

Volume	Episodes	Release Date (IST)
Volume 1	Episodes 1-4	November 27, 2025 (6:30 AM)
Volume 2	Episodes 5-7	December 26, 2025 (6:30 AM)
Final Episode	Episode 8	January 1, 2026 (6:30 AM)

The final episode is also scheduled for a limited theatrical release in the United States on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day, offering a communal farewell to the beloved series.

The Final Battle for Hawkins

Set in the fall of 1987, a year after the catastrophic events of Season 4, the official synopsis confirms that the crew returns to a town utterly changed.

Official Synopsis: “Hawkins is scarred by the opening of the Rifts, and our heroes are united by a single goal: find and kill Vecna. But he has vanished — his whereabouts and plans unknown. Complicating their mission, the government has placed the town under military quarantine and intensified its hunt for Eleven, forcing her back into hiding.”

The final chapter promises to answer core mysteries about the Upside Down’s lore and the origins of Vecna, a character creators have hinted has a deeper connection to Will Byers. The mission will require “the full party—standing together, one last time” to face a darkness “more powerful and more deadly” than anything they have encountered before.

The entire core cast, including Millie Bobby Brown (Eleven), Finn Wolfhard (Mike), Noah Schnapp (Will), Gaten Matarazzo (Dustin), and Sadie Sink (Max), are set to return, joined by veteran newcomers like Linda Hamilton.