Filming for 'Stranger Things' Season 5 Lasted for Almost a Year
Principal photography for the episodes took place long before their debut on Netflix.
Published Nov. 26 2025, 10:06 a.m. ET
The main characters of Stranger Things battle many challenges together, but nothing has been as dangerous as what awaits them in the final season of the series. After a long time, fans are eager to see how the drama concludes.
When was the final season of Stranger Things filmed? Here's what we know about the production timeline of the massive event. Netflix is taking viewers to Hawkins, Ind., one last time, and not even Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown) knows how to defeat Vecna (Jamie Campbell Bower) while saving everyone else.
When was the final season of 'Stranger Things' filmed?
A report from Deadline indicates that the final season of Stranger Things started filming on Jan. 8, 2024. It took a long time for Netflix to get the cameras rolling on the last installment of their acclaimed television series. Principal photography started around a year and a half after the release of the fourth season.
There are several factors that forced Netflix to wait before getting the gang back together. The entire entertainment industry had to deal with multiple issues.
SAG-AFTRA and the Writers' Guild of America exist to protect the rights of those who work in the creation of the films and television series that entertain the world. During the summer of 2023, both guilds organized a strike, forcing plenty of Hollywood productions to shut down filming (via The Hollywood Reporter).
Stranger Things is one of the titles that were affected by the strikes. Writers couldn't work on the scripts of the episodes while the negotiations between the guilds took place.
Principal photography for the conclusion of the journey wrapped on Dec. 20, 2024. It took Netflix almost an exact year to film the entire season.
When a production of this size wraps filming, the post-production process begins. The streaming platform took yet another year to piece together the story audiences would get to experience on the screen.
Why did it take so long to make 'Stranger Things'?
No one likes to wait too long for a new season of television. Netflix tried its best to keep working on Stranger Things, but something always got in the way. Before the strikes affected the fifth season of the show, the COVID-19 pandemic pushed back the fourth chapter.
It takes a village to produce a massive story. Not long before the pandemic shutdown began, Netflix released a video to promote the fourth season of Stranger Things.
The show must go on. Production of the episodes had to wait until it was safe for the cast and crew to return to the set of the series. The fourth season of Stranger Things was released in the summer of 2022.
The wait is over. Not even pandemics and strikes could stop the massive demand for Eleven, Mike (Finn Wolfhard), and the rest of the family's adventures. Fans fell in love with these characters over the course of a decade, and now, it's time to say goodbye.