Netflix has confirmed the final runtimes for the final four episodes of Stranger Things, and fans might want to clear their schedules. The end is finally here, as the second half of Stranger Things Season 5 begins later this week. The first four episodes aired on November 26, 2025, ahead of Thanksgiving, while the final batch is timed for the holidays, with three airing on Christmas Day and the series finale on New Year’s Eve. Per Ross Duffer’s Instagram post, here are the episode names and runtimes of the final four episodes of Stranger Things.

Episode 5 “Shock Jock” – One hour and eight minutes (68 minutes)

Episode 6 “Escape from Camazotz” – One hour and 15 minutes (75 minutes)

Episode 7 “The Bridge” – One hour and six minutes (66 minutes)

Episode 8 “The Rightside Up” – Two hours and eight minutes (128 minutes)

The Stranger Things series finale might be the longest of the season, but it is not the longest in the series’ history. The Season 4 finale “Piggyback” had a runtime of two hours and twenty-eight minutes. That said, both the Season 4 and Season 5 finales are feature-length and run longer than films like The Fantastic Four: First Steps, Moonlight, and the original Star Wars.
‘Stranger Things’ Closes Out 2025 With a Bang

Netflix

Given that the Stranger Things Season 5 series finale is feature-length, Netflix is giving the episode a limited theatrical release on New Year’s Eve. The episode will play in more than 500 theaters in the U.S. and Canada, with showtimes starting on December 31 at 5 p.m. PT/8 p.m. ET, the same time it makes its global premiere on Netflix. The finale will run in theaters through January 1, 2026. Stranger Things debuted on July 15, 2016, becoming a global phenomenon. Season 2 followed in October 2017 with Season 3 debuting on July 4, 2019. Season 4 would premiere three years later, with the first batch of episodes on May 27, 2022, and the second half on July 1 of that year. The wait for Season 5 has been long, as many series have come and gone in the three years since the previous finale, not to mention the nine years since Stranger Things debuted on Netflix.

Expectations are high about whether Stranger Things can stick the landing and make the wait worth it, or if the finale will be met with the same negative reception as Game of Thrones, How I Met Your Mother, and Dexter.

Release Date

2016 – 2025-00-00

Network

Netflix

Writers

Kate Trefry, Jessie Nickson-Lopez, Jessica Mecklenburg, Alison Tatlock