Making Us Strangers With The Show
- Aubrey Whitaker
- 7 days ago
- 2 min read
The Frustration With “Stranger Things” Fifth Season Release Dates
There has been a three and a half year gap between the fourth and fifth seasons of “Stranger Things.” On top of the absurd wait, The Duffer Brothers, the show’s creators, have decided to further space out airing the fifth season. This means that viewers, who have already had to wait years for this release, are forced to wait another month to watch the final episodes of this season.
The final season of “Stranger Things” is going to air its first four episodes on Nov. 26, 2025. Episodes five through seven are airing a month later, on Dec. 25, 2025. The series finale is then released on Dec. 31, 2025, and viewers have the opportunity to watch it in theatres. The Duffer Brothers have purposely spaced out airing times and season releases, claiming they want to build suspense. There are a few issues with these release dates, but the most noticeable one is that each airing date is on a holiday. Viewers, if they choose to watch the show when it airs, are going to be spending Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s Eve watching “Stranger Things” instead of spending time with family.
An issue that is prevalent in the gap between seasons is that the actors have aged significantly. For example, Millie Bobby Brown is 21 years old, but stars as a teenager in the film. She started acting in this show at 12 years old, and now hardly resembles the child she was in the first season. This is an issue with the film because it is increasingly difficult to differentiate between the adult and teenage characters.
“Stranger Things” season five has also partially taken so long to be released due to the length of its episodes. Each episode is typically over an hour long, with the shortest episode being 54 minutes long. “Stranger Things” season five can barely be recognized as a show anymore, but rather as a series of movies.
The fundamental issues season five faces with the space between seasons leads to disinterest in viewers. Making people wait over three years for the final season is already enough to dissuade viewers, but stretching out airing times and making watchers wait a whole month before being able to finish the season is inconsiderate. The time alone is enough to disinterest watchers, but adding another month-long wait only causes more frustration. The show’s audience has likely forgotten many details of the show, and adding more space is likely to only cause confusion.
Overall, the space surrounding “Stranger Things” fifth season is a terrible choice for the show. In general, shows should avoid long gaps between airing dates. It causes confusion, disinterest and frustration among viewers. “Stranger Things” specifically should not be making watchers wait for so long, especially because it is detrimental to the show as a whole.