After abrief stint in the Upside Downwith some technical issues,Netflix's "Stranger Things" Season 5is officially out.
With the premiere of the first four episodes on Thanksgiving Eve, the cast is naturally reminiscing on what the beginning of the end of"Stranger Things"means to them.Millie Bobbie Brown, who was only 11 when the show started filming Season 1,shared on social media Wednesdaythat "this show has given me so much."
Most importantly, Brown wrote, the show has given her "the most meaningful story to tell, el's." The actress shared two photos of herself from the earlier seasons of the show and the most recent, pictured alongside "Stranger Things" creators Matt and Ross Duffer, twins also known as The Duffer Brothers.
Our brutally honest review:'Stranger Things' final season is OK. But we should demand greatness
Fast forward a decade later to Nov. 6, 2025, at the final red carpet premiere of "Stranger Things," as the cast prepares to say goodbye to the end of an area filled with Demogorgons, Mind Flayers, bicycle rides, Eggos, secret labs, first loves, heartbreaks and the biggest bad of them all: Vecna. From left: Finn Wolfhard, Noah Schnapp, Sadie Sink, Caleb McLaughlin, Millie Bobby Brown and Gaten Matarazzo attend Netflix's "Stranger Things" Season 5 world premiere at TCL Chinese 6 Theatres on Nov. 6, 2025, in Hollywood, California." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" />
Following the first batch of episodes, fans will have to wait until Christmas Day for "Volume 2" to binge three more episodes. Finally, it will all come to a bittersweet end on New Year's Eve with the series finale (which will also be hitting theaters).After the Season 5 premiere in Los Angeles, Jamie Campbell Bower, Caleb McLaughlin, Millie Bobby Brown, Noah Schnapp, Gaten Matarazzo, and Finn Wolfhard attended a For Your Consideration event at Netflix's Tudum Theater on Nov. 8, 2025. " style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" />
Millie Bobby Brown was only 11 (no pun intended) when she attended the Season 1 premiere of "Stranger Things" at Mack Sennett Studios on July 11, 2016, in Los Angeles." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
Now 21, Brown is all grown up in a Rodarte black gown at the final premiere. " style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
On Nov. 13, 2025, Brown wore another elegant black gown at the UK screening of "Stranger Things 5" at Odeon Luxe Leicester Square in London. " style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
Noah Schnapp was also 11 when "Stranger Things" first began. " style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
Schnapp, now 21, looked dapper at the final "Stranger Things" premiere." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
Schnapp and Brown, who have fostered a close friendship offscreen, share a laugh at the London premiere of "Season Things 5." " style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
Gaten Matarazzo was almost 13 when "Stranger Things" premiered in 2016. " style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
Matarazzo, now 23, who plays the beloved Dustin Henderson onscreen, looked rocked a three-piece dark grey suit at the final "Stranger Things" premiere." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
Matarazzo at the London screening of the final season. " style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
Caleb McLaughlin was almost 14 when "Stranger Things" Season 1 premiered in the summer of 2016. " style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
McLaughlin, now 24, attends the world premiere of Netflix's "Stranger Things" Season 5 in Los Angeles." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
McLaughlin wore custom Joshua Kane at the London premiere. " style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
Finn Wolfhard was almost 12 when "Stranger Things" premiered in 2016. " style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
Wolfhard, now 22, spoke to USA TODAY at the "Stranger Things 5" red carpet about how it feels to say goodbye to the hit Netflix show and his costars. " style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
"I feel like I haven't ever said goodbye totally," Wolfhard said. "It comes in waves, I feel like. But it's really nice to be able to be here with everyone and experience sort of the end, even though it doesn't really feel like the end, because we all still talk a lot."" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
Natalia Dyer was 20 years old when she first appeared on Netflix's "Stranger Things" in 2016. " style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
Dyer, now ushering a new season as a soon-to-be 31-year-old, opted to wear a bold red dress for the final "Stranger Things" premiere as she did for the first. " style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
Dyer attends the "Stranger Things 5" screening in London on Nov. 13, 2025. " style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
After a breakout Season 1 of "Stranger Things," the core cast was back at it on the red carpet circuit for Season 2. Caleb McLaughlin, Noah Schnapp, Gaten Matarazzo, Finn Wolfhard and Millie Bobby Brown attend the premiere of Netflix's "Stranger Things" Season 2 at Regency Bruin Theatre on Oct. 26, 2017." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
Season 2 of the show saw new cast additions including Sadie Sink as May Mayfield and Dacre Montgomery as her brother, Billy Hargrove. "The Goonies" actor Sean Astin, "Beverly Hills Cop" actor Paul Reiser and "Teenland" actress Linnea Berthelsen also joined the cast." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" />
Sadie Sink, now 23, attends Netflix's "Stranger Things 2" premiere on Oct. 26, 2017, in Los Angeles." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
Sink attends the world premiere of Netflix's "Stranger Things" Season 5 in Los Angeles." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
Sink attends a "Stranger Things" Season 5 screening in London. " style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
Brown walked hand-in-hand with costar Sink on the black carpet at the Hollywood premiere of "Stranger Things" Season 5 on Nov. 6, at the historic TCL Chinese Theatre." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
The two have been red carpet besties since the beginning. " style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
Joe Keery, now 33, has been part of the original "Stranger Things" cast since Season 1. " style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
Fast forward a decade later, Keery has also forayed into the music industry. " style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
Keery opts for an edgy, all-black look at the final premiere of "Stranger Things" in Los Angeles. " style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
Charlie Heaton, the brooding Jonathan Byers on "Stranger Things," has also been on the show since the start. Here he is pictured at the 2017 BAFTA Tea Party at Four Seasons Hotel in Los Angeles. " style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" />
Heaton, now 31, attends the world premiere of Netflix's "Stranger Things" final season. " style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
Heaton, a UK native, attends the "Stranger Things" screening in London. " style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
Mother! Winona Ryder attends the Season 1 premiere of Netflix's "Stranger Things" at Mack Sennett Studios on July 11, 2016, in Los Angeles." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
Ryder attends the 2025 world premiere of Netflix's "Stranger Things" in Los Angeles." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
Blast from the past! David Harbour at the premiere of Netflix's "Stranger Things" at Mack Sennett Studios on July 11, 2016. " style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
David Harbour, now 50, attends the final premiere of "Stranger Things." He plays Jim Hopper. " style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
Father-daughter duo from the start. Harbour and Brown attend the after party for the premiere of Netflix's "Stranger Things" in 2016. " style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
The final "Stranger Things" premiere was nearly plagued with controversy after reports surfaced from the Daily Mail on Nov. 1 that Brown had allegedly filed a harassment and bullying claim against her onscreen dad before filming began. During the Nov. 7 premiere, however, the actors showed a united front, conveying nothing but admiration toward each other as phones and cameras measured their every move." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
Priah Ferguson, who plays Lucas Sinclair's younger sister Erica Sinclair, also joined the cast of "Stranger Things" in Season 1. She has gradually become a fan favorite with her sassy attitude and quick wit toward her onscreen brother Caleb and the rest of the Hawkins gang. Here she is pictured at the Season 3 premiere of the show on June 28, 2019, in Santa Monica, California." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" />
Priah Ferguson attends Netflix's "Stranger Things" red carpet premiere for Season 5. " style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
Say "Vecna"! "Stranger Things" cast Gaten Matarazzo, Natalia Dyer, Noah Schnapp, Caleb McLaughlin, Finn Wolfhard and Millie Bobby Brown (front right) attend the BUILD Series at AOL HQ on Aug. 31, 2016, in New York City. " style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
Strike a pose! The Core Four of Hawkins hit the 22nd annual Critics' Choice Awards at Barker Hangar on Dec. 11, 2016, in Santa Monica, California." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
Caleb McLaughlin, Finn Wolfhard, Noah Schnapp and Gaten Matarazzo at the 22nd annual Critics' Choice Awards. " style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 'Stranger Things' cast then and now: See Millie Bobby Brown, Noah Schnapp grow up in photos
Fast forward a decade later to Nov. 6, 2025, at the final red carpet premiere of "Stranger Things," as the cast prepares to say goodbye to the end of an area filled with Demogorgons, Mind Flayers, bicycle rides, Eggos, secret labs, first loves, heartbreaks and the biggest bad of them all: Vecna.From left: Finn Wolfhard, Noah Schnapp, Sadie Sink, Caleb McLaughlin, Millie Bobby Brown and Gaten Matarazzo attend Netflix's "Stranger Things" Season 5 world premiere at TCL Chinese 6 Theatres on Nov. 6, 2025, in Hollywood, California.
'Enjoy volume 1 folks,' writes Millie Bobby Brown of 'Stranger Things 5'
"Thank you to the duffers for taking a chance on everything you shouldn't have wanted, a british girl, with a huge family, a lot of energy, a strong point of view, but a heart that would work tirelessly for the character you built," she wrote in her caption.
"enjoy volume 1 folks," she concluded. "see you on the right side up 🆘"
View this post on Instagram
"Stranger Things"also stars the core cast Finn Wolfhard (Mike Wheeler), Noah Schnapp (Will Beyers), Caleb McLaughlin (Lucas Sinclair), Gaten Matarazzo (Dustin Henderson), Charlie Heaton (Jonathan Byers), Natalie Dyer (Nancy Wheeler), David Harbour (Jim Hopper) and Winona Ryder (Joyce Byers).
Woflhard, Schnapp, McLaughlin and Matarazzo have yet to post on social media about the series' end as of Wednesday night.
Netflix experiences technical issues during 'Stranger Things 5' release
According to Variety, Netflix briefly crashed for about three minutes at 5 p.m. PT/8 p.m. ET on Wednesday just as the fifth season of "Stranger Things" premiered on the streaming platform.
Tens of thousands of people who logged on to Netflix to catch Volume 1 of the sci-fi series, Variety reports, were met with an image from "Nailed It!" with the caption: "Something went wrong. Sorry, we're having trouble with your request. You'll find lots to explore on the home page."
Millie Bobby Brown addresses David Harbour bullying claims
The final "Stranger Things" season and press tour were nearly plagued with controversy after reports surfaced from theDaily Mailon Nov. 1 that Brown had allegedly filed a harassment and bullying claim against onscreen dad, Harbour, before filming began.
During the Nov. 6 premiere in Los Angeles, however, the onscreen daughter-father duo showed nothing but admiration toward each other as phones and cameras measured their every move.
For fans that have been keeping "the door open three inches" since "Stranger Things" last released new episodes in 2022, you're in luck. Season 5 is arriving on Netflix starting Nov. 26, and the stars are out in Hollywood celebrating the acclaimed show's final season.Scroll through for photos from the LA premiere at the TCL Chinese Theatre
on Nov. 6, 2025, starting with Millie Bobby Brown and David Harbour.
" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" />
Millie Bobby Brown and David Harbour" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
Millie Bobby Brown 6 Theatres on Nov. 6, 2025, in Los Angeles." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
Noah Schnapp" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
Gaten Matarazzo" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
Finn Wolfhard" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
Scott Mackinlay Hahn and Winona Ryder" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
Sadie Sink" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
Matthew Modine" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
Caleb McLaughlin" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
Jamie Campbell Bower" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
Jamie Campbell Bower" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
Cara Buono" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
Shawn Levy" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
Gaten Matarazzo" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Cynthia Erivo, Jennifer Aniston and Beyoncé in the best celebrity photos from November
For fans that have been keeping "the door open three inches" since "Stranger Things" last released new episodes in 2022, you're in luck. Season 5 is arriving on Netflix starting Nov. 26, and the stars are out in Hollywood celebrating the acclaimed show's final season.Scroll through for photos from the LA premiere at the TCL Chinese Theatre
on Nov. 6, 2025, starting with Millie Bobby Brown and David Harbour.
The Duffer Brothers also addressed the claims during an interview withThe Hollywood Reporterthat night, with Matt saying, "Obviously, you understand I can't get into personal on-set matters." Now, theoutlet reportsthat days after the premiere, they sat down with Brown and asked why it was important for them to show a united front amid the rumored accusations.
"We've been doing that for the last 10 years," Brown told The Hollywood Reporter in an interview. "I mean, we have always been united in that. We love this show with everything, and we value our friendship more than anything."
Brown also told the outlet it was "nice" and "really exciting" to act alongside Harbour for the final season of "Stranger Things."
"It was quite nostalgic because it reminded me so much of season two and three, where we're both kind of butting heads and she's growing up, she's trying to find her own voice and he's trying to parent, and that dynamic definitely comes back into play once again, and I'm really excited for people to see that," the actress said.
Netflix CEO reacts to 'Stranger Things' Season 5 premiere
Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos shared alengthy Instagram statementon Wednesday, Nov. 26, to celebrate the premiere of the final season of "Stranger Things."
"From the moment that Matt and Ross Duffer walked into Netflix with Shawn Levy to pitch the show, I knew that we were going to make history together. I wasn't certain that it would be with this show; it was still taking shape but these guys had something special," Sarandos said of meeting the Duffer Brothers for the first time.
"The launch of Stranger Things established The Duffer Brothers as world class creators and Netflix as a destination for event entertainment and now, 10 years and 5 seasons later, history continues to be made," he went on.
View this post on Instagram
A post shared by Ted Sarandos (@tedsarandos)
Sarandos reflected on the impact "Stranger Things" has had on pop culture and the broader cultural landscape. The show has "spawned toys, games, experiences, clothing, award winning and best selling music, an animated spin off, a Broadway show and soon enough, a spin off series too," he wrote.
Sarandos concluded: "Thank You to the entire cast and all of the crews that take fans to Hawkins and to the Upside Down and changed TV forever."
Contributing: Anthony Robledo, USA TODAY
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:'Stranger Things' Season 5 premiere crashes Netflix