The 2025-2026 TV season officially ended more than a month ago, and there’s excitement for the back half of the 2026 TV schedule to deliver returning fall favorites, new Netflix shows and more. But first, praise and attention must be given to all the biggest shows from the past year that drew the largest crowds across broadcast, cable and streaming. Unsurprisingly, mega-producer Taylor Sheridan is all over that list, with three shows sitting very comfortably in the Top 10. Just not in the very top spots.

Nielsen has unveiled its latest comprehensive stats on 2025-2026 TV (via Variety), and as it usually goes, sports programming accounts for the biggest viewing audiences, with Super Bowl LX garnering the most massive viewership. But when we factor out sports and other live events, and focus squarely on scripted creations and docuseries, that’s when Sheridan and other small-screen favorites can rise up.

Landman And Both Yellowstone Spinoffs Are In The Top 10

Both seasons of Billy Bob Thornton's Landman broke viewership records for Paramount+, and both of those were then topped by Dutton Ranch's series premiere ratings. So it's only logical that both of those shows are represented in Nielsen's rundown in the #4 and #5 spots, respectively.

Over on CBS, Marshals took Luke Grimes' Kayce Dutton and the Yellowstone-verse into more serialized storytelling, and did not suffer any dramatic viewership drops because of it. In fact, it cam in just behind Dutton Ranch at #6, with a difference of only around 100,000 viewers. I would love to know how much overlap there is between those two audience groups.

If the two shows manage to pull off a crossover episode that brings Beth and Kayce together again, I bet that ends up being the most-watched episode of any Sheridan-produced series that year. Unless of course both shows are watched by the same number of people, in which case the stats would probably look pretty similar.

Also worth noting: The Madison, which isn't a Yellowstone spinoff even if it originally was conceived as such, is tied in the #19 slot with Ghosts and Will Trent.

Netflix Is Still The King, Though

Though Taylor Sheridan's dramas can obviously draw big crowds, it would have been pretty miraculous had any of them managed to take down the biggest TV hit of the streaming era, Stranger Things. Naturally, the split-up fifth and final season took over the highest spot on the Top 10, without the need for multiple platforms to enter the mix.

Below Hawkins' finest, Netflix also boasts the #2 spot with the first season of Jon Bernthal and Tessa Thompson's His & Hers , as well as the #3 slot with the 50 Cent-produced unscripted series Sean Combs: The Reckoning, which banked several Emmy nominations for the rapper.

Across the full Top 25, Netflix also ranked for Monster: The Ed Gein Story, The Beast In Me, The Boroughs, and The Lincoln Lawyer. The last two of those were canceled this year, and those seems like even wilder decisions now that the numbers are in.

Here's a full look at the Top 10, culled from the full list of 25 shows.

Beyond Marshals and Tracker, CBS / Paramount + also populated the Top 25 with Matlock, Sheriff Country, Ghosts, NCIS, and Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage. Not too shabby, although I can't be the only one shocked to not see Boston Blue in the lineup.

I'd also be remiss if I didn't celebrate the hell out of High Potential's second season being watched by enough people to secure its Top 10 placement. Let's make all the Kaitlin Olson shows the most-watched shows on TV.

Next up for Taylor Sheridan is the third season of Zoe Saldaña and Nicole Kidman's Lioness set to stream via Paramount+ subscription, so expect to see that one showing up in the Top 10 next year.

For five seasons spanning nine years, Charlie Heaton was a core part of Stranger Things’ survivor squad, portraying the emotionally wavering shutterbug Jonathan Byers. It’s the kind of role the actor will likely always be remembered as, but Heaton won’t be resting on those laurels now that Stranger Things is done. He’s bringing forth a new generation of the Shelby family for a new Peaky Blinders sequel series following the Immortal Man film released in March, and we now know more about his Netflix creature non-feature team-up with Josh Hartnett.

Heaton will be back on the 2026 TV schedule for the upcoming Netflix series Below, which now has an official premiere date of October 8, with a bunch of new details also revealed for Heaton’s character, as well as those portrayed by the rest of the cast. And it sounds like he’ll once again be squaring off against a mysterious and potentially deadly creature that begins terrorizing a small town. Only this show sounds slightly more rooted in reality, with a pronounced lack of demodogs.

The story sounds a bit like Midnight Mass by way of sea creature features like Jaws and Leviathan instead of vampiric lore. The story is set within a small Newfoundland town, and centers on Hartnett's Calvin Penney, a fisherman and family patriarch whose existence has been darkened for decades by the mysterious death of his father. Things take a harrowing turn once the town becomes the terrorized target of an as-yet-unidentified sea creature.

With his big heart and stubborn head, Calvin is the father of three kids (as portrayed by Heaton, Ruby Stokes, and Rohan Campbell), and of course makes it a priority to keep his family safe from whatever's lurking in those waters. To do so, he partners with a marine researcher visiting the area (played by Mackenzie Davis) to figure out what the creature is, and how its existence ties into the island's own dark mysteries.

To be sure, though Below will be chock-full of scares and moments of high tension, it won't be without the innate humor and heart that comes with stories about close-knit families trying to keep their community from being destroyed. Stress can easily make someone hysterical, after all.

It sounds like Charlie Heaton & Co. will have their work cut out for them when the Canada-set series drops. And yes, there will be twists. (I'm calling it now: Josh Hartnett was the real sea monster all along.)

Below is set to cause a splash or two on October 8 via Netflix subscription, and check out all the other upcoming horror TV shows that are on the way.

Stranger Things ended over six months ago, but for the actors, they had to say goodbye to playing their characters way before that. Filming on the fifth and final season of the Netflix hit wrapped in late 2024, and understandably, everyone was emotional. (And the Duffer Brothers’ sentimental statement didn’t help.) Since then, the cast has been clear about how difficult it's been to bid farewell to this project, and Finn Wolfhard got real about how depressing it was when the show ended.

Even though Stranger Things had just five seasons, it took close to a decade to make them. That’s a long time to be working on one show, especially for the young cast who grew up on the set. Over the years, they all got very close, and in some ways, this time felt like school to them, as Wolfhard told The Guardian:

Well, much like school, Stranger Things eventually had to come to a close, and the kids had to graduate. However, with the time they had left, they made sure to spend it wisely with each other. However, this also made saying goodbye that much harder:

It’s never easy to close a chapter that happened during such formative years and that made an impact on so many people. And when you consider how much time had passed between Seasons 1 and 5, it makes perfect sense why it was "depressing" for everyone to come to terms with Stranger Things ending. Even I’m still mourning six months after the divisive finale.

I do agree with Wolfhard about ending the show when it did. A lot of shows these days don’t get the luxury of ending on their own terms. So, some season finales are crafted as series finales if the writers don’t know what the future holds. In Stranger Things’ case, the Duffer Brothers announced the end of the series in 2022, a few months before Season 4 was released and almost three years before Season 5 even premiered. They made the choice to end the show and told fans themselves. It might have been heartbreaking to see it end, but it was definitely for the better. And Wolfhard knows it.

Filming the final season must have been both fun and hard, knowing that at the end of it, they wouldn’t be back for another season. Even though the cast and crew had a couple of years to prepare themselves, when filming eventually wrapped, I can only imagine the kind of emotions that were brought up. Then, having to go through it all again the following year during the press tour was probably even harder.

At the very least, the bond Wolfhard has with his fellow co-stars will hopefully never go away. And as for us fans, we can always watch Stranger Things with a Netflix subscription.

Every streaming service has its own set of megahits, and Stranger Things is definitely one of the best Netflix shows to binge-watch. Those with a Netflix subscription were treated to its series finale back on New Year's Day, where The Party's battle against Vecna reached its conclusion. Actor Jamie Campbell Bower brought that villain to life, and he revealed the final words that he originally wanted to say in the antagonist's final scene.

Stranger Things' series finale saw Vecna finally defeated, with Winona Ryder's Joyce chopping off his head with an axe. During a conversation with Collider, Bower revealed that he was inspired by Joyce's relationship with Henry in the stage play Stranger Things: The First Shadow when he pitched a final line of dialogue for Vecna. As he put it:

Honestly, this would have been awesome. Vecna looked pretty pitiful when he was impaled by a large spike by Eleven during the final battle of Stranger Things 5. And the audience might have actually felt bad for him if he managed to beg Joyce for his life. Ultimately, this didn't make it into the beloved show's final episode, and instead, the audience was shown flashes of how Jamie Campbell Bower's villain hurt each of the main characters as Joyce hacked away at his neck.

Bower's comments show how methodically he approached his work as the antagonist of Stranger Things. In addition to playing both Henry Creel and Vecna to perfection, he also saw The First Shadow and took inspiration from the stage play when filming his last batch of episodes. He even made a cameo as Henry in the Broadway production, with fans expecting him to pop up in a pro shot of the show. We'll just have to see if/when it happens.

Despite how many months have passed since Stranger Things ended, the discourse around the beloved TV series is ongoing. Specifically, the question of Eleven's fate. While some fans think that Millie Bobby Brown's hero survived and is finally living in peace, others think she died to save her loved ones. For his part, David Harbour personally thinks she died.

Stranger Things is streaming in its entirety on Netflix. The animated spinoff Stranger Things: Tales from '85 is also airing now as part of the 2026 TV schedule. Hopefully, we get to see a filmed version of The First Shadow sooner rather than later.

Long before its final season finally hit Netflix, Stranger Things made itself at home as a semi-regular and hugely popular attraction for Universal Studios' Halloween Horror Nights. Rumors that the final season would get its own haunted house popped up back in March, and the theme park giant has officially announced Eleven, Vecna, the Upside Down, and Steve's hair will be present for an all-new house during the 2026 event. (OK, so the hair wasn't strictly guaranteed.)

Stranger Things was first represented back in 2018, and most recently for Season 4's focus for the 2023 event, complete with an Eddie Munson tribute. Here's a quick rundown on the terrors that fans will experience, as well as a long-held question that I'm hoping the new atrraction can answer in some way.

What To Expect From Stranger Things' Return To Halloween Horror Nights

The newest house will bring together a variety of highlights and locations showcased throughout Season 5, in what's being dubbed an "authentic, visceral experience that places guests at the center of the ultimate battle to save Hawkins." Everyone's "favorite characters" will be involved, with Vecna, demogorgons and other threats always right behind.

More specifically, the Stranger Things haunted house will take fans into Hawkins and through the Wheeler's house, the Hawkins National Laboratory and the MAC-Z military base, while also making terrifying jaunts through the Upside Down and the Abyss. Check out the reveal video below.

For those who want to take some of the scares home, Universal will certainly be providing that option with limited-time merch honoring the show and its 2026 HHN house. The already confirmed exclusives include a T-shirt, an '80s-friendly mug, and an acryllic Stranger Things-inspired figure for the Infernal Carnival display that will bring together all of this year's attractions.

The Question I Hope Gets Answered: What Happened To Dr. Owens?

Look, I know that Halloween Horror Nights annual attractions aren't the usual place where lingering questions about TV show characters get answered in meaningful ways. But if any show is big enough to warrant that kind of treatment, it's Stranger Things. So I need there to be some kind of detail, no matter how big or small, to offer up confirmation about Dr. Owens' fate following Season 4.

Easy as it is to buy into the idea that Paul Reiser's character was killed off by the military for showing sympathy to Eleven and wanting to keep her alive rather than killing her. Or for whatever other reasons they would want to defend the theoretical act with. But like many other fans, I don't want it to only be theoretical and left unclear in the way that Eleven's fate wasn't fully dialed out. (Even if I have my own beliefs on Eleven's finale ending.)

I can totally understand why the Duffers don't want to go there with a concrete answer about such a pivotal character. But semi-pivotal characters like Owens should absolutely get some kind of resolution, which is where the HHN house comes in. I'm really hoping to see an obituary noting Dr. Owens' passing. Or even a story about him disappearing, which would at least lend more credence to the military killing him and dumping the body. Kinda gnarly subject matter, but this IS a haunted house.

If it's a postcard that Owens tried to mail Eleven from Tahiti, that works too.

Halloween Horror Nights 2026 Confirmed Houses

• Stranger Things 5
• Sinners
• The Forces of Horror Collide

Stay tuned for more updates on new Halloween Horror Nights attractions, as well as what answers I hope those houses deliver.

For fans with a Netflix subscription, the end of Stranger Things was emotional enough on its own. But, apparently, Millie Bobby Brown had already been carrying those feelings around for quite some time. In fact, she recently revealed that she spent season 5's press tour mourning the character as part of what she considered to be a funeral for Eleven. And, honestly, I can't believe I didn't realize this while she was promoting those final episodes.

Brown recently appeared on Not Gonna Lie with Kylie Kelce and opened up about life after Stranger Things, motherhood and returning for Enola Holmes 3. The young star discussed grieving the end of Stranger Things and calling her castmates after the final season wrapped. With that, Brown revealed one clothing-related way she mourned her character:

That series of black ensembles is a surprisingly touching detail. At the time, many fans probably just thought Brown was embracing a fashion choice. Unbeknownst to me and likely others, she was quietly saying goodbye to the character she’d been playing for much of her young life. She was only 12 years old when the first season premiered, meaning she essentially grew up alongside the series and its cast. Unsurprisingly, she admitted the ending brought up fears that went beyond simply leaving a job.

Brown said that after filming wrapped, she immediately reached out to her fellow Stranger Things cast members, because she worried their relationships might somehow disappear with the show. She recalled:

That's understandable. For Brown, Finn Wolfhard, Noah Schnapp, Gaten Matarazzo, Caleb McLaughlin and Sadie Sink, Stranger Things wasn't just a television series. It was their childhood.

The cast spent nearly a decade together. Entire stages of their lives happened while making the show. Walking away from that probably feels less like finishing a project and more like leaving home.

Brown also revealed something unexpected about how some fans have reacted to the series’ controversial ending. While she used to hear people recognize her as Eleven everywhere she went, the conversation has shifted. Finally, she added:

There is something lovely about that. Instead of simply accepting the ending, fans are choosing hope. Stranger Things has always been about friendship, resilience and refusing to give up on the people you love, so maybe it is fitting that viewers are extending that same optimism to El.

As for Brown, saying goodbye to Hawkins clearly involved more tears than fans realized. Looking back, those black press-tour outfits were not just fashion choices. They were a quiet clue that she was already mourning Eleven before everyone else knew they would have to say goodbye, too.

All five seasons of Stranger Things are available to stream on Netflix and, in terms of something more recent, Enola Holmes 3 hits the Netflix streaming schedule on July 1.

Every streaming service has hit shows, and for Netflix, Stranger Things is arguably its biggest success story. The Duffer Brothers' series was wildly popular and remains one of the best Netflix shows to binge-watch. Those with a Netflix subscription were treated to the fifth and final season back in November, and there's been a ton of discourse about the finale and what happened to Millie Bobby Brown's Eleven. David Harbour recently weighed in on the cliffhanger, and he made some solid points.

The Stranger Things finale saw Eleven seemingly sacrifice herself to destroy The Upside Down, but the last scene offered another perspective. Mike and his friends believed that she actually escaped and was able to finally live a private and free life. While The Duffer Brothers refuse to reveal if El is actually alive, Harbour spoke to Variety and offered his two cents. The actor said:

Ouch. Despite playing Eleven's adopted father for years on Stranger Things, it sounds like David Harbour knew that she was eventually going to bite the bullet. These comments are sure to go viral, especially among the fans who "believe" like Mike and the rest of The Party.

While Harbour spoke about admiring the young Stranger Things actors, that doesn't mean that he wanted the show's hero to get her happy ending. He went on to share how long he expected Eleven to die in the popular series, saying:

As depressing as this outlook is, he makes some serious points. Millie Bobby Brown's signature character was never going to be able to have a happy normal life in Hawkins. Dr. Kay and the US government were determined to use her abilities, so it's not like she could just live with Hopper in their cabin and all would be well. She was going to have to leave, either by running away or by dying before Stranger Things ended.

Eleven's sacrifice ended the Upside Down forever and also protected her friends and family from further trouble. It was a noble moment that cemented her as a true superhero, so having her live anonymously somewhere else in the world would cheapen that a bit. I personally get why she had to die, although there are plenty of fans out there who believe Mike's alternate ending, and want to see her return to their screens sometime in the future.

Stranger Things is streaming in its entirety over on Netflix. The streaming service also expanded the universe with the animated series Stranger Things: Tales From '85, which is also streaming as part of the 2026 TV schedule.

The fifth and final season of Stranger Things concluded nearly six months ago, and it’s still the talk of the town. Its record-breaking, divisive finale left fans with one major question. While the episode gave a happy ending to most characters, Millie Bobby Brown’s Eleven seemingly sacrificed herself. However, her true fate was left up in the air, and the Duffer Brothers still haven’t given a straight answer.

After sacrificing herself in the finale, Eleven’s fate should have been sealed right then and there, getting destroyed with the rest of the Upside Down. But during one last Dungeons & Dragons game, Mike implied that it was all an illusion and Eleven was actually in a place where the government can’t find her. It’s still unclear if this is what happened or if Mike just made it up; even the CinemaBlend staff is divided. Creators Matt and Ross Duffer are still keeping their lips locked as to what really happened to Eleven, and that might continue until the end of time, as Ross told The Hollywood Reporter:

Like the gang, I personally believe that Eleven escaped, did not get destroyed in the Upside Down, and is living a new life somewhere far away where she’s safe. It’s somewhat annoying that the Duffers won’t reveal if that’s true or not, but it makes sense. This ending gives fans two choices, and it’s all up to interpretation. And it sounds like they’re not willing to give up Eleven’s fate so easily.

The controversial finale may not have been the universally accepted, but it’s definitely caused a lot of discourse. Plenty of fans have taken to social media and probably their own friend groups to discuss their theories, keeping the show very much alive months after it ended. Even SNL spoofed what’s next when Finn Wolfhard hosted during Season 51. That being said, Matt Duffer is somewhat aware of what most fans seem to believe, and they’re looking on the lighter side:

Since the Duffers love to mess with the audience, I’m not surprised that this is one storyline they’re not going to be straight about. It’s definitely going to keep fans talking for months to come, perhaps even years. Maybe they don’t even know what’s real about Eleven. What is sure is that the ending of Stranger Things is going to be a topic of conversation for quite some time, and all because of the biggest question of them all: What really happened to Eleven?

Now might be a good time to rewatch all five seasons of Stranger Things with a Netflix subscription to see if any clues point to the true ending. It’s possible later in the future the Duffers will share her fate, but for now, the mystery will just have to continue.

One of the biggest wins to come out of Stranger Things' own massive success has been David Harbour becoming a household name after decades of putting the work in. The actor took the role of Sheriff Jim Hopper against the advice of friends and loved ones, and kept with it despite having a miserable time filming Season 1. He's come out of filming those five seasons with tons of memories, including a surprising source of appreciation for his younger co-stars.

As it turns out, Harbour was a bit in awe of Stranger Things' teen stars for being able to fart in the middle of a performance, and then to continue with the scene without becoming a total mental case of shame. Speaking at a Los Angeles event showcasing the Duffer Brothers' creation, the actor gave his co-stars major props (not poops), saying:

For all the problems and challenges that can come with younger actors on a high-profile series like this, the flip side is that they can often deliver perfectly childlike performances without having to stretch their skills. And, ipso facto, that childish behavior can obviously rear itself in other ways, such as letting one rip while cameras are rolling. And who am I to argue against farts always being funny?

On the one hand, I can love and appreciate this assessment that kids are gonna be kids and fart wherever they want. Especially if they're passing gas while filming and are then still able to finish a scene without launching into hysterics. I like to think I'd keep a straight face, but my thoughts are wrong often enough.

Just to tie things together: David Harbour's co-star Millie Bobby Brown acted opposite Chris Pratt in Netflix's The Electric State, where the Parks and Rec vet allegedly farted so loudly it "messed up the audio" for the scene. I dunno if any of the Stranger Things kids have that kind of power. But I would put good money on Derek Turnbow portrayer Jake Connelly being able to empty a room. Maybe saying "good" money is wrong there.

Harbour continued, giving his co-stars praise for making his time on the show stand apart from other projects, and for helping him get over the hump of his Season 1 journey. In his words:

I'll just assume he wasn't talking about "having a blast" right out of his a-s, amirite?

David Harbour has a slew of new movies on the way, from the Russo brothers' Avengers: Doomsday to the upcoming action movie sequel Violent Night sequel to the Courteney Cox-directed thriller Evil Genius to the prequel John Rambo to the Paul Tremblay horror novel adaptation A Head Full of Ghosts.

All five seasons of Stranger Things, farts and all, can be streamed via Netflix subscription.

Spoilers for The Boroughs (and Season 1 of Stranger Things) are ahead! You can stream both shows with a Netflix subscription.

Before The Boroughs even premiered on Netflix’s 2026 schedule, I thought it had big Stranger Things energy. Of course, I knew the Duffer Brothers were executive producers on it, so that helped forge the parallel alongside both projects being about groups of friends (one of old folks and one of kids) trying to solve a mystery and fight a monster. Now, there are questions about whether the two shows are related. While they aren’t in terms of the stories being literally connected, one of the creators did tell me how their show directly parallels and pays homage to Season 1 of Stranger Things.

When I interviewed The Boroughs co-creators Jeffrey Addiss and Will Matthews, we spoke a lot about the glitches, what they mean, and what that final glitch at the end of Season 1 could allude to. Or, more accurately, I tried to ask what that last glitch Sam had meant. They wouldn’t answer that question; however, Addiss did tell me that those final seconds where Alfred Molina’s character glitches in the mirror were a direct parallel to Stranger Things’ Season 1 ending:

After he told me this, I immediately knew what he was talking about, and I couldn’t believe I didn’t put two and two together.

Of course, at the end of The Boroughs, it seems like the bad guys have been defeated, the monsters and Mother are at peace, and the gang is going back to their normal lives. But then Sam glitches while looking in the bathroom mirror, and new questions arise. Is he OK? Why is he glitching now? Is there a new threat? Is the old threat fully defeated? Hopefully, these are questions that get answered in Season 2.

Meanwhile, in the final seconds of Stranger Things’ first season, Will excuses himself from his family’s dinner. He goes into the bathroom, throws up a slimy thing, and then the bathroom flashes between the right side up and the Upside Down, signifying to the audience that whatever happened to him while he was missing was very much still impacting him. However, he returns to dinner like there’s nothing to worry about.

See, it’s such an obvious parallel between the two shows, as these characters realized something was wrong while looking at themselves in a bathroom mirror. Plus, it’s a super cool way to pay homage to the fact that Stranger Things and The Boroughs do share DNA thanks to the Duffer Brothers and the projects’ similar concepts.

Considering all this, I hope that the parallels continue. That’s because in Season 2 of Stranger Things, the world and the mystery expanded as we learned more about what was haunting Will. I need the world to expand in The Boroughs, and I’m desperate to know why Sam was glitching, so hopefully they get renewed so they can pick up just like the megahit did all those years ago.

Ahead of Stranger Things’ final season, fans were vocally worried about nearly everything, but few things inspired more impassioned theories than Steve’s fate. The creators kept fans stressing over Steve potentially dying in one heroic fashion or another, and the trailers for the split-apart season didn’t help matters. Of course, Joe Keery’s character survived the finale’s events, making the start of the 2026 TV schedule that much less depressing, and now Matt and Ross Duffer admit that they intentionally played into that widespread worry.

Beyond the general idea that major TV characters tend to become victim fodder in final seasons, the Steve-centric paranoia came to a head in the final episode as he was dangling from the radio tower, and his fingers let go before anyone reached down to grab him. And then a gobsmacking cut to black! The joke was on us, though, because Hawkins’ finest head of hair was indeed saved and went on to keep crushing at life.

Appearing on the Happy Sad Confused podcast (also streaming on YouTube), the Duffer brothers admitted that bit with Steve was the very rare instance where they pointedly and purposefully stoked fan fear just for the sh-ts and giggles of it all. Here’s how Matt Duffer addressed it:

Elsewhere during the interview, Ross Duffer explained in more specific terms just how they f-cked with fans. As it turns out, the brothers were inspired to go a little further with that shot than what they'd originally filmed. As he put it:

While in the midst of filming the seemingly endless number of scenes that made up the finale, and the final season at large, it makes sense that certain visuals like Steve's radio tower dangle just didn't get enough coverage on the day. Would it have turned out fine if they'd just kept what they had to begin with? Maybe, maybe not. No reason to speculate, though, since they absolutely went back and beefed that part of the scene up a little.

Ross Duffer continued:

Surely they didn't have the cut-to-black moment in mind initially. I do wish there was some kind of measurement that clocked how many gasps happened during the moment when it seemed like he was a goner.

When it comes to the actor himself, Keery knows that Stranger Things provided him the role of a lifetime, and that for some people, he may always be known as Steve Harrington, which is just fine with him. He’s more into his music era now anyway.

The Duffer brothers’ efforts at Netflix aren’t yet extinguished, either. Fans can find their latest executive-produced series, the upcoming horror series The Boroughs, streaming via Netflix subscription starting on Thursday, May 21.

While Stranger Things has come to an end, the Duffer brothers are not done with their work at Netflix. In fact, they have executive-produced a show premiering on the 2026 TV schedule called The Boroughs, and it has big Stranger Things energy. Along with that, it turns out that a challenge the brothers faced in making their megahit actually really helped this new show get off the ground.

Now, the Duffer brothers are executive producers on this new show on Netflix’s 2026 schedule that was created by Jeffrey Addiss and Will Matthews. The Stranger Things creators had been fans of Addiss and Matthews's last show, Dark Crystal, and said they wanted to work on their next project together. So, they pitched the brothers The Boroughs, a story that takes place in a retirement village and follows a group of older folks as they try to solve a mystery involving a terrifying monster.

Sounds kind of like Stranger Things with old people, right? Well, the Duffers know that, as they said, the two programs share “DNA,” and Addiss and Matthews know that, too. Actually, The Boroughs creators were able to get their show off the ground thanks to the success of the Duffers’ program, as Matthews explained during an interview with SFX Magazine on CinemaBlend:

The challenge Stranger Things faced was that it was led by children, but it was decidedly not a children’s show. I mean, when they were working on Season 1, Millie Bobby Brown was 11 years old; however, an argument can be made that 11-year-olds probably need at least an adult present to watch Season 1 with a Netflix subscription. So, if kids couldn't watch a show starring kids, who would?

It turns out, everyone. This proved not to be a problem at all. Stranger Things was a massive success, and that’s putting it lightly. So, when The Boroughs, an adventure led by older characters, came around, there wasn’t a worry that it would only appeal to older folks. It can appeal to people of all ages.

Speaking to that point and the importance of representing this demographic, Addiss said:

I totally see what he’s saying, and while I’d never thought about those parallels, it's totally true. So, I’m very excited to see The Boroughs to examine both its similarities and differences to Stranger Things.

Now, while Stranger Things made stars of its cast, The Boroughs is made up of established stars. The series is led by Alfred Molina, and also stars Geena Davis, Bill Pullman, Alfre Woodard, Clarke Peters and Denis O’Hare. They make up a Scooby gang that’s not dissimilar to that of the Stranger Things kids, as they set out to figure out what’s going on with the monsters in their community.

So, to see this show that got made, in part, thanks to a challenge Stranger Things faced, you can stream The Boroughs on Netflix starting May 21.

We ended last year by saying goodbye to the (all grown-up) kids of Stranger Things, but that doesn’t mean the actors behind the roles are going away anytime soon. The cast is all over the 2026 movie schedule, but this week belongs to Caleb McLaughlin, whose movie with 84% on Rotten Tomatoes just shot to the top of the Netflix charts.

With a Netflix subscription, we’ve watched McLaughlin grow up as Lucas Sinclair for almost a decade, but now that Stranger Things is over, he’s spreading his wings with his own projects outside of Hawkins. The latest is an animated movie called Goat, which just arrived on Netflix on Thursday, and it’s already the No.1 movie.

The movie comes from Sony Pictures Animation, which famously made the Spider-Verse movies and KPop Demon Hunters. Goat is basically an underdog basketball movie except it follows an anthropomorphic goat who idolizes a similar sport called roarball and the player Jett, who is a female panther. After growing up a fan, he finds himself as the newest recruit of her team.

In the world of Goat, while the teams are co-ed, predators are the only animals who play roarball, so when Caleb McLaughlin’s Will Harris gets added to the Thorns, all eyes are on him. The movie came out in theaters back in February, and it was No. 1 during its second week, but surely a lot of families who missed out seeing it on the big screen are tuning in now.

It’s also got very positive Rotten Tomatoes scores that applaud it for its hyperkinetic animation style, voice acting performances and family-friendly storyline. Critics gave it an 84% while audiences liked it even more, as it has a 93% on the popcornmeter. It also earned an A CinemaScore, which is on par with Hoppers and above The Super Mario Galaxy Movie’s A-.

The movie was produced and inspired by the career of Stephen Curry. The basketball legend also voices the role of Lenny Williamson, who is a giraffe on the Thorns. Caleb McLaughlin’s new movie also involves the voice talents of Gabrielle Union, Aaron Pierre, Nicola Coughlan, Nick Kroll, Patton Oswalt and even his Stranger Things co-star David Harbour – he plays the rhinoceros player on Thorns named Archie. Gotta love this Stranger Things reunion!

It’s great to see the 24-year-old Stranger Things actor killing it now that the hit Netflix show is done for good. Right now, he’s also filming a thriller (also for Netflix) helmed by Joseph Gordon-Levitt called 2034. It’ll also star Rachel McAdams, Jeff Daniels and Joel Edgerton.

As far as his Stranger Things co-stars go, Finn Wolfhard has a voice role in Bong Joon Ho’s upcoming animated feature debut, Millie Bobby Brown will be in Enola Holmes 3 this July, Gaten Matarazzo was just in Andy Serkis’s Animal Farm movie and is currently filming Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Octet, and Sadie Sink is in Spider-Man: Brand New Day this summer.

So, they're all continuing to kill it, and you can see McLaughlin's latest project on Netflix right now.

Fans of Stranger Things may not have gotten that secret-bonus episode they were looking for after Season 5 wrapped up on New Year’s Eve, but less than five months later, our Dungeons & Dragons-loving heroes are back for new adventures. I admittedly had reservations about Netflix’s new animated series, Stranger Things: Tales From ‘85, which hit the 2026 TV schedule on April 23, but after reading these reviews, I’m feeling way more inspired to fire up my Netflix subscription.

Taking place between the events of Seasons 2 and 3, Tales From ‘85 shows Eleven, Mike, Will, Lucas, Dustin and Max as they face new monsters from the Upside Down. They’ll also be joined by a new character, Nikki Baxter. Let’s get to the reviews, some of which address my concerns about the series.

There Are Good And Bad Reviews For The Stranger Things Animated Series

Do we even need more Stranger Things this soon after the sendoff of the Hawkins gang into adulthood? How will they integrate Nikki (and then extricate her) in a satisfactory way? Belen Edwards of Mashable addresses those concerns in her review, contending that this “baffling” prequel isn’t the cure for Season 5 ending backlash. This critic also addresses the storytelling sin that Nikki presents, writing:

Brian Tallerico of RogerEbert calls it an “insulting waste of time” and “aggressively uninspired.” It had the opportunity to deviate from the show in really interesting ways but chose to do exactly more of what the live-action series already did, albeit a “watered-down, less-interesting” version. Tallerico’s Tales of ‘85 review continues:

Why The Reviews Won Me Over

Those critics do bring up some concerning issues, but reading other reviews, I started to wonder: what if it doesn’t have to be that deep?

Brian VanHooker of Polygon, in particular, got me on his side when pointing out that the focus is solely on the kids (who are actually voiced by kids), not Joyce, not Hopper, and very little on Nancy or Steve. That, the half-hour format and the animation give it that Saturday morning cartoon feeling the Duffer Brothers wanted, according to the critic, who writes:

Remember when they were just kids playing D&D and not yet fully traumatized? Greer Riddell of Collider says Stranger Things: Tales from ‘85 reminds us why we fell in love with the show in the first place, rating it an 8 out of 10. It’s an especially welcome dose of nostalgia after the Season 5’s divisive ending, Riddell says:

Chris Tilly of Dextero gives it 4 out of 5 stars, agreeing the animated spinoff captures the spirit and sense of fun of Stranger Things’ early seasons. Tilly writes:

Fans are definitely not going to agree which side they fall on here. In fact, critics on Rotten Tomatoes are rating the new series at 70%, whereas fans have a much lower combined score of 45%, though it’s still early and that number’s likely to change.

If you want to recapture the fun of the Hawkins heroes’ childhood, try to erase the series finale from your brain or just keep the Stranger Things universe alive as long as possible, all 10 episodes of Stranger Things: Tales From ‘85 Season 1 can be streamed now with a Netflix subscription.

Every streaming service has its own successful original shows, and Stranger Things remains one of the best Netflix shows to binge watch. Those folks with a Netflix subscription are still debating the series finale of Stranger Things, specifically the fate of Millie Bobby Brown's Eleven. And after originally "pleading the fifth" Dustin actor Gaten Matarazzo has offered his two cents on how the show ended.

The Stranger Things cast grew up before our eyes, including Gaten Matarazzo, who has stayed busy with both film and stage projects. While speaking with THR about his new project Pizza Movie (which is streaming with a Hulu subscription), the 23 year-old actor spoke about Eleven's fate, offering:

Well, I'm intrigued. Despite Dustin saying that he believed Eleven was still alive along with the rest of the Stranger Things party during the final scene, it sounds like Matarazzo thinks he was lying. Namely because Dustin is such a scientist and pragmatic person. So it sounds like maybe he was just saying "I believe" to comfort his friends like Mike. Mind blown.

While the we know what Dustin was apparently thinking during that final Stranger Things scene, what about Gaten himself? Later in the same interview, he offered:

There you have it. Sounds like Matarazzo is also leaning towards the idea that Elle died at the end of Stranger Things, but he's not putting it past The Duffer Brothers to bring back the character at some point. After all, the franchise has already expanding with the animated series Stranger Things: Tales from '85. So he's not ruling out the fact that Eleven might somehow get a chance to return for another appearance in live-action.

With the beloved sci-fi series in the rear view, it should be interesting to see what comes next for its young cast. Gaten Matarazzo's new film Pizza Movie is streaming now on Hulu as part of the 2026 movie release list.

Stranger Things wrapped up its five-season run at the end of 2025 with a much-discussed finale (and it leaves Eleven’s fate ambiguous). The Duffer Brothers’ sci-fi/horror franchise is far from over, though, as the animated Tales from ‘85 spinoff will soon hit the 2026 TV schedule. Set between the parent series’ second and third seasons, the show will fill in a few gaps and bring in a new character to join the Hawkins crew. Of course, that newcomer isn’t referenced in the OG show, and the EP has a take on it that’s hard for me to buy into.

Tales from ‘85 introduces Nikki Baxter, a punk-rock, pink mohawk-wearing teen who befriends Mike, Eleven, Will and co. and gets drawn into their wintry adventure. Voiced by Odessa A'zion, Nikki is set to have a major impact on the kids. While the notion of introducing a significant new character may seem exciting, it also begs a retroactive question: “If Nikki’s so important, why doesn’t she come up during the original series?” While speaking with SFX Magazine on CinemaBlend, showrunner Eric Robles answered that:

First off, it should first be said that, obviously, Nikki doesn’t come up on the main Stranger Things show due to not having been thought up at that point. Still, that plays into the notion of Tales committing a storytelling sin by introducing a new character in a spinoff that also serves as a prequel. Still, Robles seems to stand by the decision to bring in Nikki, and he also shared more with SFX regarding his rationale on why the main characters don’t mention her during the events of the live-action show:

While I wasn’t born in the ‘80s, I still have trouble wrapping my head around this argument. The lack of social media did indeed mean kids had fewer methods of keeping up with each other, and smart phones weren’t around either. However, it’s still somewhat awkward to think that Baxter has such a major effect on the Hawkins kids but isn’t talked about after their time with her. I know this all sounds nitpicky but, as someone who appreciates the relatively tight continuity Matt and Ross Duffer have created, I can’t help but think about it.

Nikki’s presence on the show, of course, won’t diminish my enjoyment of it, and I’m actually eager to see how she figures into the overall narrative as well as if that helps fill in any blanks. And, of course, I’m also curious as to how the story ends for her and how her subsequent absence is explained. Throughout all that, though, I’m not sure the concept of infrequent friendships will soothe the canon quibbles I have.

Anyone who wants to check out Stranger Things: Tales from ‘85 when it debuts on April 23 should grab a Netflix subscription.

There are major franchises, and then there's the Wizarding World. Generations grew up with these stories, which spanned novels, theme parks, video games, stage plays and (of course) the Harry Potter movies. Cinephiles watched as the Potter cast grew up before our eyes, especially Daniel Radcliffe himself. And now that the Stranger Things series finale has aired for those with a Netflix subscription, he's got some A+ advice for the young cast. And yes, an F-Bomb is involved.

Stranger Things fans watched the young cast grow up throughout the show, and they've got some thriving careers. And now that their time in Hawkins has reached its end, Radcliffe knows exactly what they should do next. During an appearance on the Happy Sad Confused podcast, the Tony-winning actor spoke about some interactions he had with the Stranger Things kids. In his words:

Mic drop. Daniel Radcliffe is uniquely qualified to speak about what to do post-franchise, especially when previously synonymous with one specific role. He thinks the Stranger Things cast should use their platform to take on projects that really excite them, which is exactly what he did post-Potter.

Radcliffe has proven himself as a versatile character actor in the years since Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 hit theaters. That includes starring in a whopping six Broadway shows, and taking a variety of film and TV projects. And his time in Hogwarts allowed him the fame and financial stability to take those bold swings.

The Harry Potter movies (which are streaming with an HBO Max subscription) were a global sensation that are still regularly re-watched to this day. But Radcliffe has carved out a thriving career apart from the Wizarding World, largely thanks to the wide range of projects that he's taken on. Later in the same podcast, the 36-year-old actor spoke about what Gaten Matarazzo has been up to post-Stranger Things, saying:

Of course, he's not the only one who has been keeping super busy. For instance, Millie Bobby Brown has led a number of movies, many of which are on Netflix. Finn Wolfhard has worked as both an actor and director, and Sadie Sink will appear in Spider-Man: Brand New Day, in addition to a number of theater credits. But if they want to follow Daniel Radcliffe's advice, they should make sure they do whatever projects they want... regardless of how big they might be.

Radcliffe can currently be seen on Broadway in Every Brilliant Thing, and also stars in The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins, airing as part of the 2026 TV schedule.

Warning! Spoilers ahead for Malcolm in the Middle: Life’s Still Unfair. You can stream it now with a Hulu subscription!

After years of talk of a Malcolm in the Middle revival, Malcolm and his family are finally back. Malcolm in the Middle: Life’s Still Unfair dropped on the 2026 TV schedule today, with four new episodes. Most of the original cast has returned to reprise their fan-favorite roles, and while reviews for the revival are mixed, it’s still a lot of fun. And a Stranger Things star’s cameo is icing on the cake. What makes it even better is the fact that one f-bomb-filled conversation led to it.

The finale of the four-part revival saw none other than Finn Wolfhard making a surprise appearance as an event planner hired by Jane Kaczmarek’s Lois for her and Hal’s (Bryan Cranston) anniversary party. It’s definitely unexpected, but after seeing Wolfhard hosting Saturday Night Live, it’s nice to see him doing more comedy. And it’s all because he’s a fan of the original show.

Creator Linwood Boomer told Deadline how the cameo happened, and it’s both filled with f-bombs and wholesome:

I would love to know Wolfhard's thoughts about not only being on the set of the revival but getting the chance to be in it. Because going from wanting to just visit the set because he’s a fan to being cast in it because a part was open sounds like fate. Plus, as a fan of the show, he must have been ecstatic about all this.

Considering filming for Malcolm in the Middle: Life’s Still Unfair wrapped almost a year ago, it’s impressive that they were able to keep the cameo a secret until the premiere. However, Wolfhard did spend a decade of his life working on the Netflix megahit Stranger Things. So, it's safe to say that he knows how to keep a secret.

Boomer’s wife, Tracy Katsky, who is an executive producer on the show, revealed that Wolfhard was “an absolute doll” on set. She also said that he kept “forgetting to deliver his lines” because he was so overwhelmed that Kaczmarek, as Lois, was screaming at him. If a blooper reel is ever released, I really hope these takes are included.

There is a lot more to look forward to with Malcolm in the Middle: Life’s Still Unfair aside from Wolfhard’s cameo. Those who loved Malcolm in the Middle should get a kick out of these four episodes. As of now, it’s unknown if there will be more, but these episodes are certainly better than nothing. Especially since Frankie Muniz, Bryan Cranston, and more are back in their beloved roles. Malcolm in the Middle: Life’s Still Unfair is streaming now on Hulu.

Maya Hawke isn’t just Ethan Hawke and Uma Thurman’s child, as she’s an actor who’s built up an impressive resume of movies and TV shows across the past decade, most notably through her role on Stranger Things, her voice work in Inside Out 2, and her upcoming part in the Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping cast. And as it turns out, she’s even had moments where she’s overshadowed her famous dad in fan encounters.

When Maya Hawke was promoting Stranger Things 5, which ended in the emotional series finale, she shared when the roles were reversed for her with her famous dad. In Maya’s words:

Ethan Hawke was shown the interview moment while on TODAY to talk about his acclaimed film Blue Moon, which earned him his first Best Actor nomination at the Academy Awards. He smiled at the funny story, before adding this:

Can you imagine growing up with your father being a Hollywood star, and then becoming one yourself? So crazy! The 27-year-old gained acclaim for playing Robin in Stranger Things, and her dad explained why he’s so proud that she has achieved her status as an actor and singer, saying this:

Like father, like daughter! As Hawke joyously shared, he’s seen the interest in his daughter to pursue the arts since she was a kid, and he helped influence her love and appreciation for a number of art forms. Since Maya has become an actor, the pair have worked together on the same movie, Wildcat, and yes, weighed in on the nepo baby debate.

Hawke often shows support for his daughter’s success, and he's said that her role in Stranger Things feels “aligned in the stars” to him. The day the Upside Down opens in the TV show was his real-life 13th birthday, which was the year he started acting and was in the movie Explorers.

While Ethan Hawke is one of Hollywood’s biggest actors with roles in beloved movies like Dead Poets Society, Before Sunrise, Training Day, and Boyhood, it’s certainly understandable that Maya might be more recognizable these days since she was in one of the biggest TV shows of the past decade. One can’t help but think about the persistent fans who’ve told her they didn’t know who her dad was.

Believe it or not, nearly three full months have passed since the final credits rolled on Stranger Things, although the controversy over the finale extended well into the 2026 TV schedule. Some fans were so upset by the ending that they were all-in on the #ConformityGate theory about a secret real finale that would release in the new year. Now, after disappointing the #ConformityGate believers (and Philadelphia Flyers mascot Gritty), The Duffer Brothers' new Netflix show has debuted, and my question is how well Something Very Bad Is Going To Happen will do on the Top 10.

Something Very Bad Is Going To Happen arrived for anybody with a Netflix subscription on March 26, with Matt and Ross Duffer on board as executive producers under their Upside Down Pictures production company, while Hunters' Haley Z. Boston is at the helm as writer and showrunner.

Unlike the upcoming animated Stranger Things spinoff, the new live-action horror series isn't set in the same world as Hawkins, IN. It follows the story of a bride and groom in the week leading up to their wedding, and you don't need to go any further than the title to know that not everything is going to go according to plan.

Even though The Duffer Brothers aren't as involved in Something Very Bad Is Going To Happen as they were as the EPs, writers, creators, and showrunners of Stranger Things, I would have had no doubt that having their name attached would launch the new horror offering to the top of Netflix's TV Top 10 by the end of its first weekend of availability... except that people are still mad about that ending for Eleven and Co.

I'd been surprised last year by how quickly Stranger Things dropped out of the #1 spot after Volume 2 released, and that was before the finale debuted to divide the fandom. And you don't have to look beyond the comments on Ross Duffer's Instagram post that was promoting SVBIGTH to see that there are definitely still bitter feelings from fans.

Of course, online commenters don't represent Netflix's full subscriber base, and the show looks interesting enough that I would predict a spot in Netflix's Top 10 sooner rather than later with or without The Duffer Brothers as executive producers. At the time of writing, just hours after Something Very Bad Is Going To Happen began streaming, these are the entries in the Top 10 that the new show will have to beat:

1. Tyler Perry's Beauty In Black Season 2
2. WWE Raw
3. Virgin River Season 7
4. Age Of Attraction Season 1
5. One Piece Season 2
6. Radioactive Emergency Season 1
7. The Dinosaurs
8. Mark Norman: None Too Pleased Comedy Special
9. Bridgerton Season 4
10. Mark Rober's CrunchLabs Season 3

The new show stars Camila Morrone, Adam DiMarco, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Ted Levine, Jeff Wilbusch, Gus Birney, Karla Crome, Sawyer Fraser, Zlatko Burić, and the trailer gives a sneak peek at some of the very bad things that apparently are going to happen to the lovebirds at the center of the action. Take a look:

All eight episodes of Something Very Bad Is Going To Happen are available streaming on Netflix now. I won't be surprised if it finds a spot on the Top 10 within the week, but I'm also quite curious to see how long it takes to get to #1... if it does at all. Whatever you may think of how The Duffer Brothers ended Stranger Things, there's a reason why it became such a hit in the first place, so perhaps their involvement in Haley Z. Boston's series bodes well.

Two months on, and Stranger Things’ final season still feels like a weird lucid dream on Christmas morning, despite all of the widespread finale criticisms still echoing in my head alongside the fandom’s unrealized hopes for a super-secret finale. Anticipation has now set in for the animated spinoff Stranger Things: Tales From ‘85 hitting Netflix's 2026 release lineup, but the latest batch of new details and character posters makes it seem like the creative team is making the one narrative faux pas that I thought this show would 100% avoid.

Given that Stranger Things: Tales From ‘85 won’t be expanding the Hawkins’ teens stories beyond the finale so much as filling in some of the blanks between Seasons 2 and 3, my only real expectation was that the creative team would avoid adding anything new that could potentially create hiccups regarding the final three seasons. Such as — oh, I dunno — bringing in a new character whose presence is so important and vital to the others that it would make zero sense for the live-action series’ characters to never reference them. And yet…

During this particular tale from 1985, Eleven, Mike and the others are just settling back into whatever normal life looks like, when of course a new threat emerges from beneath Hawkins, and it’s the kind that a team of trained adults couldn’t possibly handle. Only RPG-obsessed teens are capable.

Which is where our new character, Nikki Baxter, enters the picture. An exchange student with a punk rock attitude and the haircut to match, Nikki, voiced by Marty Supreme and I Love LA co-star Odessa A’zion, is used to moving from place to face and doesn’t have much experience with building deep friendships. She comes out of her shell once she tags along with our Dungeons & Dragons-loving heroes, though, taking on more of a physically intimidating role within the campaign, as opposed to someone with magical abilities. Here’s how A’zion put it to Tudum:

I can easily see Dustin putting his foot in his mouth and finding out the hard way just how tough Nikki is, but it sounds like she'll align quite nicely with the others.

Showrunner Eric Robles says he talked with the Duffer brothers at length about making sure that Nikki was right for the tone of the show and the tone of the group itself, and that she would feel like a true extension of the dynamic, and not just tacked on for the sake of it. As he put it:

Check out the full character poster for Nikki below, and then read on to hear why this new character seems so non-intuitive for this show.

Why Nikki's Presence In Stranger Things: Tales From '85 Bugs Me

Namely, if Nikki is so important to Dustin, Mike, Will, Lucas, Eleven and Max that she not only joins their D&D games but ALSO helps them stop a monstrous threat in the town, then it doesn't make any sense for the live-action series to include zero references to her. Even if Nikki's family once again packs up and ships off once the heroism is done, her impact on that period would still live on in the others' heads. And considering all of the flashbacks and memories that were rehashed in Season 5, the lack of Nikki mentions seems suspect at best, and negligent at worst.

Obviously Nikki can't logically get referenced in Stranger Things proper since she wasn't even conceived of during the second or third seasons. So it makes no sense to me why all involved thought that was a vital idea for this spinoff. Sure the TV show constantly added to the ensemble each season, but without the worry about injecting new details into past timelines.

In the scheme of things, it doesn't really matter, but for a show whose creators have always been such sticklers for canon, it boggles the mind to think that Nikki Baxter will forever live only in an animated bubble of reality that never gets discussed at any other point in the characters' lives.

The Duffer brothers have several other projects in the works at Netflix that they served as executive producers for under their overall deal, such as the nutty-looking thriller Something Very Bad Is Going to Happen, as well as another sci-fi-tinged show, The Boroughs, co-starring Bill Pullman, Geena Davis and more. They’ll soon be creating projects solely for Paramount, both features and series, but the Stranger Things universe will continue to live on.

Stranger Things: Tales From ‘85 will bring Team Hawkins out to save the day again, along with their new buddy, with it streams via Netflix subscription on April 23, 2026.

Bridgerton is one of the best Netflix shows to binge-watch, and is one of the most popular shows on the streaming service. We're currently in the midst of Season 4, which is available for those with a Netflix subscription. Just like the last season of Stranger Things (as well as Season 3), the book-to-screen adaptation was split into two parts, released a month apart from each other. While I don't mind this strategy, I think that Bridgerton fumbled this time around for a key reason.

For its most popular shows, Netflix has been splitting up its seasons into multiple parts. That includes Wednesday, Stranger Things, and (of course) Bridgerton. While I enjoy how this unifies the viewing experience for fans, I had an issue with Season 4's schedule. Namely because there wasn't enough of a cliffhanger for my taste.

Bridgerton Season 4 Part 1's Cliffhanger Wasn't Juicy Enough.

Bridgerton first did a split release in Season 3, and it ended on a wild cliffhanger. In Episode 4, Penelope and Colin end up making love in their carriage, afterward he gets down on one knee and proposes to her. It was titillating and thrilling, and the drama was at a fever pitch considering her secret identity as Lady Whistledown. But season 4's midseason cliffhanger wasn't quite as juicy.

Episode 4 of Season 4 featured a steamy stairway scene, where Benedict and Sophie kissed inside Bridgerton House. At first, it looked like their romance was finally hitting its stride... before he asked her to be his mistress. Awkward. While this plot line continues to be the driving force of the season, the end of Episode 4 was a letdown when compared to Penelope and Colin's from Season 3.

To be clear, I am really enjoying Season 4 of Bridgerton overall. I love the Cinderella-inspired story of Sophie Baek, and think that both her love story with Benedict and her history with Katie Leung's Lady Araminta Gun is super captivating. I just don't think that the midseason finale was quite as effective as we saw last season. And as a result, I'm not quite as eager for the show to release Part 2 on February 26th.

Netflix's split-season release strategy is overall effective, but it's the most helpful when there's a killer cliffhanger to leave fans on. Just look how the internet exploded after Part 1 of Stranger Things 5 was released, complete with that huge Will Byers twist. Obviously, it's not ideal for shows to have to structure themselves around the release schedule, but it might be a necessary evil to buoy fan interest.

Bridgerton Season 4 Part 2 will debut February 26th as part of the 2026 TV schedule. We'll just have to wait and see if Sophie and Benedict work out.

Odessa A’zion is showing that her success in Marty Supreme (which has nine 2026 Oscar nominations) is just the beginning of her blooming career, and we love to see it. The actress who recently went viral for passing on a role after racial backlash, isn’t having any problems filling her schedule, considering she just added her fifth upcoming project to her schedule.

The Marty Supreme Breakout Just Signed Up For Her Fifth Upcoming Project

Odessa A’zion’s big moment in lights isn’t ending anytime soon, considering the number of projects her name is on right now, and the stack just got higher. Deadline reported this week that the Marty Supreme actor has just signed on to a movie that will also star Sarah Paulson, Naomi Watts and Dianne Wiest.

The movie is currently untitled, but it will center on Paulson, who is playing a celebrated actress named Sandra Vale starring in a Broadway production of Bertolt Brecht’s Mother Courage. It will follow her as her estranged sister (played by Watts) shows up on the eve of her “greatest performance,” and 30 years of unsaid tension come out. Wiest is playing their mother, and per the report, A’zion will play “Lucy, a willful rebel on the edge of a life-altering decision”.

It certainly sounds like it could be another possible future Oscar contender, given all the talent involved, but we’ll have to wait and see. Production has apparently already started in Montreal.

What Else Does Odessa A’zion Have Lined Up?

Before her latest movie comes out, we won’t have to wait long to see A’zion in more roles, given that three of her upcoming projects have already been shot. Her first follow-up after Marty Supreme will be a voice role in Stranger Things: Tales from ‘85, which is on the 2026 TV schedule and will be available to those with a Netflix subscription on April 23. It hasn’t been revealed who she will play, but it’ll be exciting to watch out for her voice acting chops on the exciting spinoff.

Prior to Marty Supreme, Odessa A’zion had made a number of horror movies, like the 2022 Hellraiser reboot and last year’s Until Dawn movie. And, she’s already made two other flicks from the genre that have yet to be released. She’s in a movie called Nickels about a man haunted by his brother’s death and another indie called For The Night, which has been described as an innovative “spin on the found footage horror genre”, per Deadline.

The last of her upcoming projects we’re aware of is a starring role in the second season of HBO’s I Love LA alongside Rachel Sennott and Josh Hutcherson. The series (Season 1 is available to stream with an HBO Max subscription right now) was renewed back in November as the network revealed the comedy is “among the fastest growing” of its original comedies, averaging close to 2 million cross-platform viewers in the U.S., per Variety.

If A’zion isn’t on enough people’s radar already, it sounds like she’s about to be! Following her incredible performance in Marty Supreme, we’re not at all surprised she’s blowing up in a good way.

Stranger Things is one of the best Netflix shows to binge, and is arguably the streaming service's most popular title. Those with a Netflix subscription were recently treated to the fifth and final season, which wrapped up the story of Hawkins. Although one of the show's stars didn't hold back their criticism on the Stranger Things series finale.

Depending on who you ask, Stranger Things joined the ranks of TV shows that actually ended well. But there are some folks who were dissatisfied, and included in those ranks is none other than Papa himself, actor Matthew Modine. In the comments of his recent Instagram post, the Oppenheimer star was asked if he liked the series finale, and he responded with:

While not waxing poetic about where he thinks The Duffer Brothers went wrong, it sounds like the actor who brought Dr. Brenner to life wasn't satisfied with how the Netflix megahit ended its story. He worked on the show for years, so he's got a unique perspective on the nostalgic sci-fi project.

After the finale "Chapter Eight: The Rightside Up" was released on New Year's Eve, a fan theory claimed that a bonus episode was coming. That didn't end up actually happening, but Michael Modine seems to think it would be a good idea. When asked if he believed in the theory about a ninth episode, the actor said:

Of course, there's no indication that the theorized ninth episode is really happening. While you might not have liked Eleven's ending, Stranger Things' series finale provided a ton of closure for the rest of the cast. We saw Joyce and Hopper get engaged, the younger cast graduate High School, as well as Holly and her friends take over the Dungeons & Dragons game in the Wheeler basement.

That being said, there are a number of criticisms about the show's ending that have made their way online since the final episode premiered on Netflix. Some fans took umbrage with Eleven's apparent death, especially given her tragic life on the show. Others wanted to see creatures like the Demogorgons in the final battle, and wish that the last stand against The Mind Flayer lasted longer. Plus there are folks who were sad about characters that were unceremoniously written off, such as Susie, Argyle, Dr. Owens, and Max's parents.

After Dr. Brenner was killed off (for good) in Season 4, Modine was noticeably missing throughout the final season of Stranger Things. But Papa's legacy was still felt, and now he's weighing in on his thoughts about the finale.

Stranger Things is streaming in its entirety on Netflix, and the animated spinoff Tales from '85 will debut April 23rd as part of the 2026 TV schedule.

Whether you’ve seen the Stranger Things series finale or not, I’d guess you’ve heard about the debate surrounding Eleven’s fate. As the 2026 TV schedule has gotten going, one of the biggest moments is still being discussed, as folks try to figure out if Millie Bobby Brown’s character survived or died. Now, Lucas actor Caleb McLaughlin has shared his take on it, and I totally agree with him.

Now, while it seems inevitable that Millie Bobby Brown will be talking about Eleven’s fate for the rest of her life, it would seem the rest of the Stranger Things cast can’t escape it either (at least for now). That was proven on an episode of The View, when Caleb McLaughlin was asked what he thought about Eleven while promoting his project on the 2026 movie schedule, GOAT. He was down to get into it, though, as he answered the question with the following:

When that was met with a big audience reaction, one of the hosts asked if he meant “gone to the supermarket.” McLaughlin clarified that he does believe Eleven is dead. Rewording his opinion on the matter slightly, the Lucas actor said:

I also think this. I’m of the opinion that Eleven’s Wicked-like ending is simply a dream Mike concocted to live with the grief of losing her. And I think that’s beautiful. I do think all the kids have chosen to believe that she’s alive, and who knows, maybe she is. However, I don’t see how she could have survived those final moments before she disappeared. So, yes, I think she’s dead, much like the Lucas actor.

Now, while McLaughlin is of the opinion that Millie Bobby Brown’s character is dead, he, like me, does think Lucas believes she’s alive. Speaking a bit more to that mindset as well as the ambiguity of Eleven’s fate, the actor said:

I do love the ambiguity of Stranger Things’ ending, and the optimistic note it concludes on. This fantasy Mike’s created about where Eleven went is tragically beautiful, and I think it helps him and all the kids move on. I also think her sacrifice was necessary, and because of it, the world was saved. It feels a bit odd if she somehow survived all that and then couldn't be with her friends or family.

It would seem that Caleb McLaughlin has a similar mentality, and I love how he explained it all. Yes, both of us believe Eleven is dead. However, the kids don’t, and their choice to believe and continue to support each other allows Stranger Things to end on an optimistic note. So, yes, I love his take on the end.

Now, if you want to watch the finale with all this in mind, you can stream Stranger Things in its entirety with a Netflix subscription.

For as much as has already happened in the 2026 TV schedule, it can be easy to forget that Stranger Things came to an end just one month ago. The finale is likely going to go down as one of the most divisive in recent years, with some fans so disappointed that they created an elaborate conspiracy theory and others debated whether Eleven is alive or dead. The frenzy has been over for some time now, so I was surprised to sign in with my Netflix subscription on Friday night and discover one way that the Duffer Brothers' series is still on top.

I got back into Bridgerton in time for Season 4 to release streaming this week, so I naturally signed into Netflix on this ice-cold Friday night to start the new season. I wasn’t expecting any kind of reminder of Stranger Things today other than when “Purple Rain” started playing on my music shuffle. But when I glanced at Netflix’s Top 10 TV Shows in the U.S. today, I made an unexpected discovery: there is one way that Stranger Things is beating the competition while ranking tenth.

That is because out of the entire Top 10, Stranger Things is the only show that isn’t marked as “RECENTLY ADDED,” “NEW SEASON,” or “LIVE.” It seems that the majority of Netflix subscribers have moved on to more recent streaming options after a month from the end of Stranger Things, but there's still a healthy enough number of fans watching that it’s beating all the competition in its own less recent category.

It has held onto a spot in the Top 10 since ending in late 2025, and it’s still in there at the end of January. Check out the full list, as well as when they debuted as a Netflix original or were added to the library:

1. Bridgerton Season 4 – January 29
2. Mike Epps: Delusional – January 27
3. His & Hers – January 8
4. Free Bert – January 22
5. Skyscraper Live – January 23
6. Finding Her Edge – January 22
7. 11.22.63 – available January 7
8. Star Search – January 20
9. Sandokan: The Pirate Prince – available January 19
10. Stranger Things Season 5 – December 31, 2025

Congratulations to Stranger Things to holding onto that Top 10 spot, even if it has dropped down from #1 to #10! It is worth noting that of the other nine entries, 11.22.63 and Sandokan: The Pirate Prince aren’t Netflix originals. 11.22.63 (2016) was originally available with a Hulu subscription before switching streamers, while Sandokan: The Pirate Prince (2025) is an Italian series that originally aired on Rai 1 across the Atlantic before being added to the Netflix library.

All of this is to say that the list isn’t comprised of nine identical shows and Stranger Things as the only outlier, but at the time of writing, there’s no denying that you can scroll through nine titles marked as being new releases before getting to Stranger Things. Talk about staying power! At this point, I’m genuinely curious to see how much longer it sticks around in the ranking. Bridgerton likely isn’t going anywhere while there’s still half of Season 4 set to release in February, at the very least.

Can you believe it? It’s already been about a month since the Stranger Things series finale aired. While we’ll be debating about what really happened to Eleven for years to come, things may have wrapped up for our favorite residents of Hawkins. However, the show’s creators, the Duffer Brothers, have been hard at work on three upcoming shows for those with a Netflix subscription, and we have some new information about one already coming out this spring.

The Duffer Bros’ New Show Sounds Like A Chilling Horror Fest

The Stranger Things creators' next show is called Something Very Bad Is Going To Happen, and its place on the 2026 Netflix release schedule is just two months away. It’s an eight-episode limited series produced by the Duffers and created by Haley Z. Boston (who previously wrote an episode for Guillermo del Toro’s Cabinet of Curiosities and was a story editor on Hunters) that we originally heard about in 2024. Boston describes her concept as the “horror version of becoming a wife.”

The series follows a couple who are getting ready to get married in five days. Something Very Bad Is Going To Happen follows bride Rachel and groom Nicky as they head to the secluded vacation of Nicky’s wealthy family just before their wedding. The series is led by Camila Morrone (Daisy Jones & The Six) as Rachel, Adam DiMarco (Overcompensating) as Nicky, Jennifer Jason Leigh as Nicky’s mom, and Ted Levine (Monk) as Nicky’s dad.

In a new interview with Entertainment Weekly, the creator cited Carrie and Rosemary’s Baby as influences, but we’ll have to wait for the series to drop before we find out about the “something very bad” that will occur during the couple’s trip.

Oh, And There’s More Where That Came From From The Duffers...

What’s also quite exciting is that Something Very Bad Is Going To Happen isn’t the only series from the Duffer Bros expected to come out this year. There’s Stranger Things: Tales From ‘85, which is an animated spinoff series set between Seasons 2 and 3 that does follow the characters from the OG show, like Eleven, Mike, Will, Lucas, Dustin and Max, from a more Saturday morning cartoon approach.

The other show (that I’m particularly interested in) is one called The Boroughs. The Duffers have said it shares some “DNA with Stranger Things,” given it's about a group of misfits dealing with an otherworldly force, but these protagonists will be the residents of a retirement community in New Mexico. The cast of the series includes Alfred Molina, Geena Davis and Bill Pullman.

While you’d think these guys would sit back and relax after just being behind one of the biggest TV shows of the past decade, they’ve got some really exciting new series on the way. We don’t have a specific release date for Stranger Things: Tales From ‘85 or The Boroughs yet, but the full season of Something Very Bad Is Going To Happen drops on March 26!

Stranger Things 5 may have ended a month ago, marking the official end of the fan-favorite Netflix hit, but the series is still being talked about. The streamer released a new documentary centering on the final season, and Finn Wolfhard even spoofed the series and what could come next while hosting Saturday Night Live on the 2026 TV schedule. Additionally, new information is still being shared about the show, and Sadie Sink revealed the tea about learning how to skateboard.

Sink joined Stranger Things as Max Mayfield in Season 2, effectively skateboarding into the hearts of not only the characters but the audience. While music was able to get Max out of the Upside Down more than once, skateboarding seems to be her passion… but it's not Sink’s. In an Instagram video posted by the Stranger Things account, the actress spilled the tea on what it was like learning how to skateboard for the role, and it’s not what you’d think:

Having to not only deal with learning lines and a complex way of doing school, but spending a full three hours every day for who knows how many days learning to skateboard is pretty intense. It also makes sense that she was scared of getting hurt, even with all of the protection she had. Plus, skating around the studio sounds extra challenging.

If anything, it can be assumed that Sink probably didn't have to do all her skating because it's possible that a stunt double could have done the riding for her. It’s unknown how much skateboarding she actually did, but having to learn for three hours every single day means that she definitely did it a lot. At the very least, the skating turned out pretty great, and she seemed to be a natural on screen.

Now that Stranger Things is done, would Sink ever get back on the board? She admitted it would “depend,” but she also said that she would “not willingly” do it. Even though wrapping the series was as emotional as ever, I wouldn’t be surprised if Sink was happy to be done with the skateboarding, specifically. Whether or not she’ll take on another role that requires her to skateboard is unknown, but at least for the time being, she is putting that part of her life in the rearview mirror.

Since it seems unlikely that Sadie Sink will skateboard again on screen, fans can always see her skills by watching Stranger Things with a Netflix subscription. It’s still hard to believe that the show has ended, but the Max actress doesn’t seem too heartbroken about not being forced to skateboard anymore.

The final season of Stranger Things saw Eleven, Hopper, Mike and co. make their final stand against the villainous Vecna, who took on an alternate form throughout the season. Using his former human appearance as Henry Creel, Vecna created an alter ego, Mr. Whatsit, through which he got close to Holly Wheeler, Derek Turnbow and the other kids he needed for his plans. Even in that form, there’s still a sinister edge to Creel, though I’m looking at him in a different way after learning of the TV star who partially inspired his fit.

As Mr. Whatsit, Vecna dons a brown suit jacket with matching pants as well as a fedora that sets off the look. The costume designers for Stranger Things put a lot of time and effort into developing each character’s outfits throughout the show’s five-season run. One of those designers, Amy Parris spoke with SFX Magazine on CinemaBlend for its latest issue, and spilled some sweet BTS tidbits. When talking about Whatsit (who’s played by Jamie Campbell Bower), Parris revealed a beloved TV personality was an influence for the look:

Honestly, I wouldn’t be surprised if a number of Netflix subscription holders picked up on this, but I honestly didn’t consider the late Fred Rogers having influenced Mr. Whatsit’s outfit. It does make sense on paper, of course, considering that series creators Matt and Ross Duffer needed the character to be someone who could endear himself to youngsters. On that note, Rogers is one of the prime examples of a TV host who could connect with kids, and that remains a part of his sweet legacy.

Of course, Henry is far less friendly than the Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood creator, as his machinations only unfold further as the season goes on. Rogers also wasn’t the only person the costume designers drew from when designing the Whatsit look. Those threads were meant to mirror another notable Stranger Things antagonist:

Between Brenner and Whatsit’s looks, I’d have to say the latter’s outfit comes off as slightly more unnerving. Let’s be real, Bower’s Vecna is creepy in almost all of his forms, and even Eleven actress Millie Bobby Brown admitted to being unsettled by the character’s mutated form. Aside from that, Bower himself took in the hype that accompanied the fifth and final season, teasing fans about Whatsit details and reflecting on the online rabbit holes he fell down amid filming.

Jamie Campbell Bower deserves a lot of credit for the way in which he portrayed all of Vecna’s forms. Of course, it’s also been said that the suit makes the man, and Amy Parris and co. also deserve their flowers for the stellar costume work they did. The bittersweet part of knowing this BTS knowledge about Mr. Whatsit, though, is moving forward, I may or may not imagine him as a sweater-wearing man seeing off a trolley headed for the Neighborhood of Make-Believe.

Watch all of Stranger Things on Netflix now and, if you feel so inclined, why not learn more about Mr. Rogers by checking out the documentary Won’t You Be My Neighbor? with a Prime Video subscription.

Spoilers ahead for Stranger Things Season 5, so consider yourself warned. Stream the whole series with a Netflix subscription.

It’s been a few weeks now since Stranger Things officially came to an end after five seasons, and there’s plenty that fans are still debating: What happened to Eleven? How did Max graduate on time after spending nearly two years in a coma? Why was Linda Hamilton’s role so badly botched? Did Rockin’ Robin and Vickie stay together? The Duffer Brothers weighed in on this last question, and I’ve got my own thoughts on the matter.

Vickie (Amybeth McNulty) was introduced in Season 4 as a member of the Hawkins High School band who Robin (Maya Hawke) had a crush on. By Season 5, the two were officially (but secretly) an item, and Vickie even got in on some of the Vecna-fighting fun. So did this traumatic experience bring Robin and Vickie closer or drive a wedge between them? Ross Duffer told EW:

So, just like the fate of Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown), Ross and Matt Duffer are letting each individual fan decide if they think the couple lasted, despite admitting that they did talk about the characters’ futures. However, as Ross mentioned above, there are some hints.

Vickie didn’t attend the graduation with Robin in the epilogue, and she wasn’t seen or mentioned by name either, which some fans are taking to mean they broke up. That theory is only strengthened when Robin talks to Steve, Nancy and Jonathan about “overbearing significant others,” though it’s unclear if she’s referring to her own love life or Steve’s (Joe Keery).

Matt Duffer offered his own slightly more-decisive take, saying:

His response is still noncommittal, but he makes a valid point. While Nancy and Jonathan did end their relationship, Max and Lucas’ bond was strong enough to endure, and Joyce and Hopper got engaged. All of these decisions make sense narratively to me, and that’s why — in my opinion — the right choice would be to break up Robin and Vickie.

Both young women are so, well, young, and they’re still discovering themselves. It’s far more realistic that despite sharing something beautiful (and, at times, horrifying) as teenagers, they would continue to evolve when they go to college, move out of Hawkins and meet other people. As Matt Duffer pointed out, not a lot of high school sweethearts survive that.

I also really don’t like it when a book or TV series shows its characters in the future having not made any new friends, found new hobbies, dated anyone else, etc. I want the people I’ve invested so much time in to live big, full lives that aren’t confined to one specific chapter.

That’s just me, though, and by not giving a definitive answer to the Robin-and-Vickie question, the Duffer brothers are fine with letting everyone call that ending for themselves.

For years now, there's been discussion about the power of representation in the media, particularly LGBTQ+ stories. And in the past month we've been treated to some moving stories, specifically the steamy queer series Heated Rivalry (which is streaming with a HBO Max subscription), as well as Will Byers finally sharing his queerness in the penultimate episode of Stranger Things. I watched both of these shows' coming out scenes in the same week, and I couldn't help but think about all the young LGTBQ+ folks who might be streaming at the same time.

While Heated Rivalry's sex scenes helped it go viral, the last few episodes told an emotional story about Shane and Ilya coming to terms with their true feelings for each other. Will's sexuality was something hinted at since Stranger Things Season 1 (which is streaming with a Netflix subscription), so his coming out scene was a long time coming. While they were very different sequences and shows, they were both heartwarming, emotional, and a powerful example of representation.

Stranger Things And Heated Rivalry Had Two Different (But Powerful) Coming Out Scenes

While Stranger Things is an action-packed sci-fi story, Heated Rivalry is a book-to-screen adaptation focusing on closeted hockey players with (presumably) a fraction of the budget. Funny enough, their stories about characters coming out of the closet aired at around the same time, showing two distinct but moving takes on how terrifying it can be for queer folks to tell their loved ones about their hidden sexuality.

In Heated Rivalry's finale "The Cottage," Shane's father stumbles upon he and Ilya kissing, forcing him to come out to his parents. What resulted was a beautifully moving scene, where Shane's mother weeps and apologizes for making him feel like he couldn't tell them about his queerness. It's a scene that illustrates a parent's love, and how even LGBTQ+ folks who have loving families can still struggle to come out of the closet thanks to the fear of being rejected.

Throughout Stranger Things' run on Netflix, Will was heavily hinted at being gay, starting from its very first season on the air. But it took until Season 5, and some encouraging words from Maya Hawke's Robin, before he could finally come out to his family and friends.

What resulted was not only him being accepted by both Joyce and The Party, but his strong sense of self manifested in him being able to use his own abilities to fight Vecna. Noah Schnapp offered a beautiful performance in the coming out scene, and seeing the rest of the cast one by one put their support behind him was tear-inducing. The group hug at the end was the cherry on top, and serves as an example of how many LGBTQ+ folks wish their own coming out story would go down.

I'm in my 30s and have been an out gay man since 17, but that didn't make me any less emotional watching these sequences in Heated Rivalry and Stranger Things. I remember the fear of coming out, and the tears that came as I slowly told my friends and family, although most of all these episodes made me think of queer youth who might be watching these two wildly popular streaming shows.

I came out of the closet before we got much positive LGBTQ+ representation; this was before shows like Glee helped to pop that bubble. I can only imagine how powerful it would have been to see these positive coming out scenes on the screen as a young person, and I only hope that queer youth are given comfort and hope when seeing the way both Will and Shane were embraced.

Heated Rivalry Season 1 is streaming on HBO Max, Stranger Things is streaming in its entirety on Netflix, along with a documentary about the final season that just premiered as part of the 2026 TV schedule. Luckily, Heated Rivalry was renewed for Season 2, so hopefully the wait between seasons isn't too long.

One of the most discussed and largely polarizing TV episodes of the millennium so far, Stranger Things’ series finale has wowed some fans, perplexed others, and for a select group, Eleven’s debatable and vaguely explained fate was the last straw. As opposed to the rumored “secret episode” that fueled a wave of #ConspiracyGate posts on social media, Netflix unveiled the sprawling behind-the-scenes doc One Last Adventure. It didn’t change how I think things played out, but the doc showcased a batch of unused finale ideas, including one involving Dr. Kay.

For One Last Adventure, director Martina Radwan had untethered access to the bulk of the production, and spent time both in the writers room as well as on the sets. At one point during the second half, the camera pans across a whiteboard with a series of finale events on it laid out in sequential order, as seen below. (Just to stress it here: none of the early ideas noted on the board are meant to represent what plays out in the finalized finale.)

Lower down on the left side, partially obscured by a chair, fans can see what appears to be an early idea for how to eliminate the season’s biggest (and also conversely the most useless) military threats in Linda Hamilton’s Dr. Kay and Alex Breaux’s Lt. Robert Akers. Here’s what it appears to say:

Now, because the words aren't entirely clear, I can't say with certainty what it says. But if I were a betting man, I might put money on the idea that in this version of events, after Kali gets fatally shot, she uses her powers to make Kay and Akers kill each other. Or perhaps it's closer to what happened in the episode, and El is the one who steps in and makes Kay and Akers shoot each other.

Whatever the specific details might be, I'm all-in on believing this indicates the goal at some point was to actually kill Linda Hamilton's character off, in part because her name doesn't pop up on the board again after that. Plus, this version of events would actually close out her story, which bafflingly did not happen in the episode that was released. In fact, we have zero ideas about where things left off for her, beyond the general idea that she bought into Eleven's "sacrifice."

In the version of the finale that was released, Akers specifically acted without Dr. Kay's permission or involvement, so she wasn't present and active during the scene where Akers shot Kali. While it was obviously great that he eventually gets killed, I don't know that any poetic justice was achieved in having Eleven do it. I would have loved to see Kay and Akers take each other out, regardless of whether Kali manipulated them into it or not. It doesn't make any sense for her to still be alive without repercussions.

Had there bene plot reasons involved, such as an eventual goal to have Dr. Kay show up in a future Stranger Things spinoff, then I could more easily understand leaving her story so open-ended. But the Duffer brothers have stated that none of the familiar characters from this show will be returning in future projects. That could change, of course, but I'm still not sure it'd be worth the wait.

All five seasons of Stranger Things can be streamed via Netflix subscription, which will also be required to travel back to the mid-'80s for the impending spinoff Tales From '85, which is set to hit the 2026 TV schedule later in the year.

SPOILERS are ahead for Stranger Things Season 5, now streaming with a Netflix subscription. If you haven’t already – what are you waiting for? Go watch the end of the show.

I don’t care if it’s been two weeks since the Stranger Things finale, because I’m going to be insufferable talking about it for the foreseeable future! Along with debates still going on about what happened to Eleven, Netflix released a documentary about the making of the final season which offered audiences a better understanding of what it was like to film the huge fifth season from the cast and crew’s perspective. Now, we know that the Duffer Brothers didn’t have the script for the last episode “The Rightside Up” finalized until right before it was filmed. But Jamie Campbell Bower (a.k.a. Vecna) must have known some secrets ahead of time, right?

When CinemaBlend spoke to the actor behind the Stranger Things big bad, he answered this question. In his words:

When you think about it, it’s kind of wild the actor didn’t have a leg up on his castmates when it comes to Vecna’s masterplan with the Upside Down. Bower, who kept one of Vecna’s hands after wrapping the show, said this regarding what happened when he did learn about what the Upside Down really is alongside the rest of the cast:

The Upside Down is of course science fiction, and you shouldn’t expect any Demogorgons knocking on your door (or coming out of your ceilings) anytime soon, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t some fun science behind the Upside Down. Jamie Campbell Bower told us he found himself going down some “interesting rabbit holes” regarding the science of the Stranger Things world, especially when it was finally explained by Dustin in Episode 7.

It goes to show that even though actors like Bower straight up have the Duffer Brothers' phone numbers and work directly with the creators on set, they had to experience the reveal much like the audience. In the new documentary, titled One Last Adventure, we even get to see the cast read the script for the finale together for the first time, and all the raw emotions that come out of the reactions to it.

There’s still more lingering questions regarding how Vecna opened the Upside Down, which the Duffer Brothers have said they will answer in the upcoming spinoff set to be a completely new story, with new characters and set in a new time period. While it’s pretty crazy that the Vecna actor didn’t know the secrets to the Upside Down before the finale, during our interview he did keep one detail about Mr. Whatsit close to the vest for fans to figure out.

The five-season saga of Stranger Things ended with the core group of kids moving on from their childhoods, but a new behind-the-scenes video reveals that Caleb McLaughlin made some time to help the children on set to have a good time while filming a gruesome sequence. Joe Keery's Steve earned himself the reputation for being Stranger Things' resident babysitter going back to Season 2, but McLaughlin now has me wishing we'd seen more of Lucas looking after some youngsters. Take a look:

Assuming you watched Stranger Things Season 5 with a Netflix subscription just ahead of the 2026 TV schedule picking up, it may still be fresh in your memory that the finale definitely didn't include Lucas leading the kids in a clapping game when they were fresh out of their pods in the ribcage of the Mind Flayer! Most of his scenes with the kids involved trying to save them from being taken by Demogorgons, so it's fun to get a glimpse of Caleb McLaughlin interacting with his young co-stars behind the scenes of the finale without any monsters in the mix.

Episode 8 of Season 5 was of course the genuine finale, with #ConformityGate theories about a secret real finale not coming to fruition, and the One Last Adventure: The Making of Stranger Things 5 documentary was a deep dive into the production of the season rather than filled with payoffs on any unanswered questions. I'm not expecting debate over the quality of the ending to fizzle out any time soon (and even the CinemaBlend staff is conflicted over Eleven's ending), but I hope we can all agree that Caleb McLaughlin making a bid for Stranger Things' #1 babysitter is pretty delightful.

Fans in the comments of Netflix's TikTok post don't seem to see McLaughlin (or Lucas) coming for Joe Keery's (or Steve's) crown as babysitter, as Steve has evidently been elevated to parental status after how the series ended. Check out just a handful of comments, edited for clarity:

• @𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞ꨄ: "Mother Steve had to put babysitter Lucas in charge for a bit."
• @Brandon Max: "STEVE IS PROUD."
• @˚⋆𐙚。𝙼𝚒𝚔𝚎 𝚠𝚑𝚎𝚎𝚕𝚎𝚛˚⋆: "Steve is def proud 🥹✌️."
• @Not_christopher67: "Steve would be proud."
• @sam 💕: "The babies became the babysitters 🥺."

Considering the open-ended nature of the divisive finale, viewers can technically speculate that Lucas goes on to become a babysitter between classes in college just as easily as they can speculate about Eleven and her waterfalls. There's no need to theorize about Steve continuing to work with kids, however, after his epilogue fate revealed that he was coaching a baseball team and working as a very lenient sex ed teacher to the youth of Hawkins.

For now, it remains to be seen just how long Stranger Things remains a hot topic to keep people commenting. The video with Caleb McLaughlin was posted just shy of two weeks after the finale released and a day after the documentary premiered, and already accumulated more than 132k "likes" on TikTok as well as more than 1.6k comments. Sure, some of the comments are still about #ConformityGate, but it's clear that plenty of people still care.

At the time of writing, Stranger Things has dropped to #7 on Netflix's Top 10 TV Shows in the U.S., while the One Last Adventure documentary is currently at #2 on Netflix's Top 10 Movies in the U.S. It's only being beaten by People We Meet On Vacation (which drew some interesting takes from critics), so that places it as the #1 documentary on the streamer. If you're not ready to move on from the world of Hawkins, the Upside Down, and/or the Abyss, you can always revisit the earlier years of the series on Netflix now.

Spoilers ahead for the Stranger Things series finale.

Since its debut, Stranger Things has been one of the best Netflix shows to binge watch. Those with a Netflix subscription were recently treated to the fifth and final season of the show, including its epic series finale. Actress Natalia Dyer revealed one twist related to her character Nancy Wheeler that she fought for, and I've got to say I totally agree with her.

The fifth and final season of Stranger Things ended on New Year's, showing the final battle against Vecna as well as an extensive epilogue about what happened to our beloved characters. In it we learn that Nancy dropped out of college in favor of a job, with Dyer speaking to Deadline about why she fought for that narrative choice. In her words:

Honestly, this does track. While Nancy was introduced as a straight-A student, she ended up spending years fighting the evil forces of The Upside Down. She was The Party's main marksman, and put herself in danger time and time again while trying to get revenge for Barb's death. So the idea of her putting down her weapon and going back to being a cheery co-ed at Emerson College felt dishonest to her larger journey on the series.

It's sweet hearing how The Duffer Brothers consulted with the cast of Stranger Things about their character's ending, especially considering just how long they spent playing those roles. Nancy dropping out of school and going straight into the workforce was something that felt right for Dyer, as she went on:

She's not wrong. Nancy went through a ton of trauma throughout Stranger Things, including a bunch of near-death experiences and losing her best friend. This has made her an adult from a young age, one that might be frustrated going back to a "normal" life in college. Natalia Dyer knows this character better than anyone, so she had strong feelings about how her journey should end.

There was a ton of pressure on The Duffers to stick the landing with Stranger Things' series finale. While some fans took umbrage with creative choices like Eleven's fate, I think that the Stranger Things ended way better than other shows like Dexter, True Blood, and Game of Thrones. And that was largely thanks to how much closure we were given thanks to that long epilogue.

Stranger Things is streaming in its entirety on Netflix, and a documentary about the final season was just released as part of the 2026 TV schedule. We'll just have to wait and see what comes next for Natalia Dyer and company now that their time in Hawkins has come to an end.

Spoilers for the series finale of Stranger Things and Wicked: For Good are ahead! If you want to watch the hit show, it’s available with a Netflix subscription. If you are looking for the Wicked sequel, you can buy or rent it.

Up until the last day of 2025, I had never thought about Stranger Things and Wicked at the same time. However, after watching the final minutes of the beloved Netflix series, I can’t stop thinking about how its ending and Eleven’s fate specifically mirror the end of Wicked: For Good. So, let’s talk about why.

Eleven And Elphaba’s Fates Are So Similar

Now, as I’m sure you know if you’re reading this story, Eleven’s fate is left ambiguous at the end of Stranger Things Season 5. It’s believed that she died when they destroyed the Upside Down. However, in the final minutes of the show, Mike shares his alternative theory about how she survived.

In Mike’s mind, Eleven vanished, and the ruckus caused by the Upside Down’s fall gave her a way to escape the military. So, she did it with the assistance of Kali, who helped her become invisible and run away. No one can know El is alive, and no one knows where she is, but Mike said he thinks she’s somewhere “beautiful” and “far away.” The show then cuts to Eleven hiking toward a small town near some waterfalls. There, she’s able to find “peace,” and it’s this story that Mike and his friends choose to believe.

I don’t know about you, but that story is eerily similar to the end of Wicked: For Good. And I did make a joke to my brother while watching Stranger Things that maybe Mike came up with the idea for the musical.

That’s all because at the end of Wicked: For Good, it’s revealed that Elphaba actually survived the bucket of water being thrown on her; she did not melt, she used a trap door to hide. However, no one, except Fiyero, knows that. So, she leaves Oz forever with him, and Glinda stays behind, not knowing that her friend survived.

Now, while Elphaba is definitely alive, and Eleven’s fate is unclear at best, these endings are so undeniably similar. However, I also love that the creators of Stranger Things didn’t realize these parallels until someone told them about it.

How The Duffer Brothers Reacted To This Wicked Comparison

Considering the well-reviewed Wicked: For Good and the final season of Stranger Things both came out during the final months of 2025, it was easy for me to see the connections between their endings. However, these parallels weren’t intentional. During an episode of Happy Sad Confused, Josh Horowitz asked the Duffers about these similar endings. In response, Matt Duffer said a friend informed him of them, before saying:

So, in the end, it truly is just a coincidence, and I love it.

Now, to go back and see what I mean as I compare Stranger Things to Wicked, you can stream the series on Netflix and the first movie with an Amazon Prime subscription, then you can rent For Good. Trust me, if you do that, you probably won’t be able to unsee the parallels. However, I also think this is a wonderful case of “great minds think alike.”

SPOILERS are ahead for the Stranger Things series finale, which is now streamable with a Netflix subscription.

Stranger Things is a cultural juggernaut, and anyone who needs proof of that needn't look any further than the way fans have discussed its series finale. That fateful installment is filled with notable moments, many of which have picked apart by viewers. As fans continue to talk (and cry) about what went down during that final episode, Millie Bobby Brown shared a video of what happened when she watched Eleven’s big scene. Spoiler alert: the tears were flowing.

The moment where Eleven decides to sacrifice herself amid the destruction of the Upside Down is incredibly emotional. That's especially true since the heroine simultaneously takes time to say goodbye to boyfriend Mike, who's not ready to see her go. It’s a beautiful scene in the Stranger Things finale, and it seemed to also be quite moving for "El" actress Millie Bobby Brown. The actress dropped the following Instagram video, which shows her visceral reaction:

As can be seen above, the scene caused Brown to break down in tears as she thanked those in the room with her before exclaiming “this damn show!” It looks like she was in an ADR booth, which is part of the process actors often participate in during post-production to re-record dialogue.

It may be safe to assume that this session happened a little while after Brown had already wrapped on ST and said goodbye to her cast in person on set. I could surely imagine all the emotions of the series' conclusion really flooding back to her during the session.

Brown started playing Eleven since she was 11 and, now she’s 21. So half of her life has been spent as a Stranger Things star. I can’t even imagine the intense emotions that have accompanied her saying goodbye to this chapter of her life.

The Duffer Brothers-created sci-fi series finished its run on New Year’s Eve (even though tons of fans later became convinced there was a secret bonus episode) with a major question for fans to answer among each other: did Eleven really die? The CinemaBlend staff has reached its own consensus, especially considering there are some holes in Mike’s theory. Still, it's likely that Brown will simply be asked about the finale forever, given the Duffers said they told the actress what really happened.

While Eleven presumably died in a valiant sacrifice to save her friends and the world, the death count of Stranger Things wasn't as bloody as fans were expecting. The series ended with an emotional epilogue where the core group of friends (plus Max) played a game of D&D following their high school graduation. Mike suggested that Eleven could be alive somewhere but chose to stay away from Hawkins to protect them. That leaves a major layer of ambiguity over her fate.

Now that Stranger Things is over, Millie Bobby Brown is looking towards other projects, like the third Enola Holmes movie, which will debut sometime this year. Brown's also a new mom to the child she shares with husband Jake Bongiovi. Brown is definitely all grown up and ready to move on though, if her viral clip indicates anything, it's that she still has a soft spot for the show responsible for making her a star. And fans can now watch that series in its entirety on Netflix.

It's no secret that sticking the landing for long-running TV shows can be a difficult task. While some shows have good endings, there have been a ton of bad finales, especially in recent years. Game of Thrones' controversial finale is still a sore point years later, and most recently, those with a Netflix subscription were treated to the Stranger Things series finale. And I've got to address the hate that's been coming at The Duffer Brothers since its release.

There was a ton of expectations ahead of Stranger Things' final episode, which included a long epilogue that provided closure for its beloved cast of characters. But some fans still had problems, leading to a fan theory about a bonus episode. I was personally very satisfied with how the show ended, and think that we need to remember some of the actual bad finales we've gotten in recent years.

Stranger Things's Series Finale Is Getting Too Much Hate

Since Stranger Things is one of the best Netflix shows to binge-watch and has been the streamer's flagship series for years, it was going to be impossible to please everyone. Some folks complained that the final battle against Vecna went too quickly, with others wanting to see Demogorgons involved. And others were bummed about Eleven's fate, particularly those who didn't believe Mike's story and think she actually perished when The Upside Down was destroyed.

But despite how you might feel about Eleven's apparent sacrifice, I think that Stranger Things' epilogue offered a ton of closure. Joyce and Hopper got engaged, The Party graduated from high school and moved on from Hawkins, and the older teen characters were shown coming into their adulthood. And seeing the full cast unite in order to kill Vecna once and for all was thrilling.

Personally, I think that folks out there who are hating on Stranger Things' finale online need to be reminded of some of the terrible TV endings we've gotten. Game of Thrones is a big example of this, particularly Bran becoming King and Dany and Jon's fates. But that's far from the only example.

Dexter's finale was similarly disappointing when it aired in 2013, especially since it was airing at the same time as Breaking Bad's triumphant final season. I also recently watched True Blood, and was reminded how bad the entire seventh season was, including its last episode. Fans hated the How I Met Your Mother finale, and it hasn't gotten better with time. With all that history, I think it's safe to say that Stranger Things' finale doesn't belong on a list with those disappointing entries.

While you can't please everyone, Stranger Things offered a finale that I think will get more love as time goes on. The entire series is streaming now on Netflix, and a BTS documentary about its final season is set to debut January 12th as part of the 2026 TV schedule.

Warning: SPOILERS for Stranger Things’ final season are ahead!

Sadie Sink may have played an important role as Max Mayfield in four out of five Stranger Things seasons, but the same can’t be said for Max’s mother. Jennifer Marshall only played Susan Hargrove in two episodes of Season 2 and four episodes of Season 4, and was completely absent from Season 5. Considering everything Max was going through in the Netflix subscription-exclusive show’s final season, Marshall had a hilarious take on Susan’s absence.

At the end of Stranger Things Season 4, Max was left in a coma due to the injuries she sustained from Vecna that she initially died from before Eleven brought her back to life. Max remained in that coma when Season 5 picked back up 18 months later, but we only ever saw Caleb McLaughlin’s Lucas repeatedly visiting her at the hospital. Her mother was nowhere to be seen, so Jennifer Marshall went on Instagram to give her thoughts about that:

I mean, I don’t know that it’s necessarily my call to make such a decision, but it is suspect how we not only never saw Susan at the hospital with Max, but she also wasn’t seen at her own daughter’s high school graduation. Let me put it this way: right how, I hold her in even less regard than Ted Wheeler. At least four seasons of that man not really caring what was going on with his children, he tried to protect his family against a Demogorgon early on in Season 5, as did Karen Wheeler multiple times.

In a later Instagram post, Jennifer Marshall took issue with how her previous comment was blown “out of proportion for clicks” by another outlet. While the actress (who’s also appeared on shows like Sugar, For All Mankind and Reacher) would have liked to participate in Stranger Things Season 5, she’s just giving her lighthearted commentary on how Susan Hargrove won’t be awarded Mother of the Year. Honestly, maybe we should cut her slack. She could have had plenty of shining mother moments offscreen on Stranger Things (let’s not forget she was working two jobs to keep a roof over their heads in Seasons 3 and 4), and maybe she was just sitting somewhere out of view during the high school graduation.

Ultimately it’s a moot point, as Stranger Things is now over. Sure, Stranger Things: Tales from ’85 premieres sometime on the 2026 TV schedule, but it’s doubtful we’ll see Susan in this animated prequel set between Season 2 and 3. So she’ll just have to continue existing with that less than stellar reputation.

The five-season saga of Stranger Things has come to an end, and fans with a Netflix subscription may have spent the first week of the 2026 TV schedule processing the finale in their own ways. Whether that means believing in the #ConformityGate theory of a secret extra episode, starting a rewatch, or analyzing scenes for hidden clues, there's been plenty to go over. We have many Stranger Things fans here at CinemaBlend, and since this series finale may be the most divisive since we weighed in on the Game of Thrones conclusion, we all had our own takes about Eleven's ending.

The series of course seemed to show El's death on screen, with her tragically sacrificing herself to end a cycle of abuse while all of her loved ones watched, with Prince's "Purple Rain" playing over the sequence. Mike presented an alternate theory in the epilogue, suggesting that the El they thought they saw die was actually just a projection of Kali's that she was able to maintain long enough to fake her sister's demise.

So, did Eleven die just as she seemed to in the MAC-Z, to the sounds of Prince's greatest hit and Mike's screams? Or Is Mike's elaborate theory about Kali, an invisibility spell, and El making a grand escape to a faraway land with three waterfalls the truth? Or is the real end something in between the tragic and optimistic options?

Well, there are definitely mixed opinions among the CinemaBlend staff, so read on to see what we all believe.

Riley's Take - Eleven Is Dead

I think I need to believe Eleven is dead. I know either fate could be true; however, I’ve come to the conclusion that she didn’t make it. I think the idea of Mike creating this fantasy about what happened to her is tragically beautiful, and I love that all the kids choose to believe that it’s true. Adding to that, I think the sacrifice she made was so heroic and necessary that I have a hard time believing she could live through it. So, in conclusion, I think Eleven is dead.

Nick's Take - Eleven Is Dead

I'm all for optimism and coping mechanisms, but good-vibing faith does not equal reality, and I believe the facts are stacked against any shot at Eleven having survived. For Mike's theory to be spot-on, too many variables would have been necessary, and any reveal that she actually faked her big sacrifice would (in my mind) cheapen the finale's emotional thrust for both Mike and Eleven. Even in a show called Stranger Things, sometimes the most obvious solution is the right one.

Sarah's Take - Eleven Made A Beautiful Sacrifice

I haven’t put out a foam conspiracy board or gone down any rabbit holes since the Stranger Things finale regarding Eleven’s fate, because I personally felt so emotionally satisfied by the finale. Knowing that the core group of kids (plus Max) played another round of Dungeons & Dragons together before going off to live their adult lives, and are no longer fighting Vecna anymore was the closure I needed for the show. Whether she lives or dies, Eleven made a huge sacrifice for her friends and Hawkins and thought her arc of going from a victim to a hero was beautifully done.

Erik's Take - Eleven Died

Firstly, I really appreciate the Duffer Brothers' willingness to make Eleven’s fate ambiguous in the Stranger Things finale. As for whether the powerful heroine survived the destruction of the Upside Down, I’m of the thinking that she did indeed die. Mike’s theory about her having faked her death with Kali’s help isn’t totally far-fetched, but his assertion feels more like wishful thinking that fact. Nevertheless, I find it sweet that Mike and co. choose to believe that theory, as it symbolically represents their desire to hold onto their friend and essentially, a key part of their childhood as well.

Corey's Take - Eleven Died

I loved how much closure we got in the finale, with the only exception (of course) being Eleven's fate. While I thought that it was moving to see the way Mike and the others believe that she was somehow able to escape the final confrontation, I personally believe that she did not survive. The idea of Kali surviving long enough to create an illusion with her powers felt a bit too much of a stretch for me. And the idea of her letting Hopper mourn her after his previous trauma makes me even more bummed than believing she sacrificed herself.

Kelly's Take - Eleven Lives

I'm choosing to believe that everything Mike said at the end is how things eventually went, three waterfalls and all!

Adam's Take - Eleven Died

As much as I would like Eleven to have survived the Stranger Things series finale, there are too many hurdles for me to buy that it happened. In particular, I can’t make sense of how Kali would have survived long enough to cast her illusion from so far away in the Upside Down and know exactly when to do so. So while Mike did a wonderful job of imagining Eleven getting a happy ending just like the rest of them, I just don’t believe.

Philip's Take - Eleven's Stuck

It has been a week since I watched the Stranger Things series finale, and Eleven’s fate is something I’ve thought about quite a bit. While I was initially firmly in the “She’s totally dead after sacrificing herself” camp and felt like Mike’s story was just a way for him to cope with her, I’m starting to feel like she’s stuck somewhere in limbo between Hawkins and the Upside Down. However, I don’t think this is an open door for her to return in some shape or form, but instead some type of purgatory, albeit one with some truly mesmerizing scenery. Well, unless this is all some kind of illusion.

Mick's Take - Eleven Died

As much as I want to believe Mike’s story, I find it hard to believe that Eleven survived the end of Stranger Things. I can’t imagine she’d be able to find her way out of Hawkins, out of the country, and somehow all the way to Iceland without being spotted or captured again. Even then, it’s hard to imagine Eleven would ever know peace, given the global reach of modern American intelligence agencies. Given that, I think the idea of her dying stresses me out less, so I’m going with that.

Heidi's Take - Eleven Died

I think Eleven is dead. There are strong arguments on both sides, but I really felt like someone was going to have to sacrifice themselves to destroy the Upside Down, and with that being the ending that was originally presented, I think it’s the most satisfying. It actually really annoyed me that Mike went on to suggest a theory that put her fate in question, because leaving it up to the viewer feels wishy-washy. It also diminishes Eleven’s sacrifice, if she is, in fact, deceased.

Laura's Take - Eleven Lives

As far as I'm concerned, Eleven is alive and set to kick off the '90s somewhere with beautiful waterfalls, and I can believe this for three key reasons. First, the initial “Purple Rain” explosion doesn’t actually destroy the lab. Assuming Kali had used her powers to fake her own death earlier in the finale, she could have cast the illusion long enough to fake El’s. Second, I challenge any nonbeliever to explain how El got from the back of a truck all the way to the Upside Down gate without any soldiers spotting her. And third, the show is over! If everybody else got a happy ending, there’s no reason why I can’t choose one for El and Mike.

The Verdict

There's nearly a consensus among CinemaBlend staff members that Eleven died in the Stranger Things finale, making Mike's theory a coping mechanism rather than a reveal of what really happened. There are still a couple of believers in those three waterfalls, however, and enough unexplained details in both theories that either can be true. Maybe there just wasn't time for Kali and El to work out a way to fake her death, or maybe the fakeout is what El knew Mike would understand some day after their final conversation in the Void.

At the end of the day, unless the Duffer Brothers plan to continue the stories of the surviving characters (whoever they may be), the question of what really happened to Eleven may be up to interpretation forever. It's up to each fan to decide if the tortured teen girl's story came to a tragic or a hopeful ending.

Spoilers ahead for the final season of Stranger Things.

The Marvel Cinematic Universe is always expanding, thanks to new projects arriving in theaters and streaming with a Disney+ subscription. Arguably the most highly anticipated upcoming Marvel movie is Avengers: Doomsday, and there are a ton of theories about what The Russo Brothers might have up their sleeves. And a new one about Doctor Doom's motivation in the movie sounds surprisingly like Vecna's plan in Stranger Things 5.

What we know about Avengers: Doomsday is super limited, leading fans to fill in the blanks with their own theories. Those with a Netflix subscription were recently treated to the fifth and final season of Stranger Things, which saw the villainous Vecna kidnap children in an attempt to change the world in his image. And a rumor about Doomsday (via ScreenRant) makes it seem like Robert Downey Jr.'s Doctor Doom is up to something similar in the next Avengers movie.

The theory revolves around the early footage for Doomsday. Captain America's teaser showed his infant child, while Thor was seen with his adopted daughter Love. Add in the Fantastic Four: First Steps credits scene, and some fans think that Doctor Doom is trying to steal the children of the shared universe.

The theory claims that Doctor Doom is collecting superpowered kids in hopes of replacing them as Anchor Beings throughout the multiverse. And since they're young, he'll be able to manipulate them and shape various universes to his will. Is it just me, or is this sounding similar to Vecna's evil plot in Stranger Things 5?

This is just a theory at this point, so we should probably take it with a grain of salt until we get more information about exactly what's going down in Avengers: Doomsday. Still, the possible connection to Stranger Things has the potential to get even more folks invested in what RDJ's title character and his plans.

Obviously the timing of this Doomsday theory coming out in the wake of the Stranger Things finale is coloring my perspective of it. And it's more than possible that Doctor Doom is planning on doing something entirely different. But the Marvel villain is known for multiversal plots, and the Doomsday cast announcement points at a story that will be told across various timelines.

Throughout Stranger Things 5, the heroes attempted to protect a group of kids from Vecna aka Henry Creel aka Mr. Whatsit. In the end they took the fight to the show's villain, and were able to save the kids before the world ended.

All will be revealed when Avengers: Doomsday hits theaters on December 18th as part of the 2026 movie release list. As for Stranger Things, the entire show is streaming now on Netflix... even if fans think The Duffer Brother are still planning a secret bonus episode.

I haven’t watched Stranger Things since Season 1, but people who watched to the end apparently feel very strongly about the conclusion. I’ve picked up on a few details as to why, but ultimately, the reasons are less important than the fact that a vocal contingent of fans has decided that the final season, or at least the final episode, was so “wrong” compared to the rest of the show that there must be something conspiratorial going on.

A conspiracy theory that goes by the name ConformityGate suggests that what was released on New Year’s Eve as the final episode of Stranger Things was, in fact, not the final episode, and that a secret new episode will be released (eventually) that will be the real ending and explain why the episode we got was all wrong. I’ve heard all this before.

Fans Of Sherlock Were Convinced There Was More To The Story, Too

I’m not a Stranger Things fan, but I’ve been a Sherlock Holmes fan since I was about 12 years old, so when the showrunner for Doctor Who, Steven Moffat, created a new adaptation of the great detective set in the modern day back in 2010, I was interested. If nothing else, Sherlock succeeded in making a star of Benedict Cumberbatch, but the show had a lot of fans, who also had a big problem with how it ended.

Whatever you thought of the first three seasons and the TV special of Sherlock, it is generally agreed upon by even the show’s biggest supporters that Season 4 was terrible. The lead-up had suggested that James Moriarty might still be alive, or at the very least had planned some massive challenge for Sherlock prior to his death. It ultimately revealed that this (ridiculously convoluted) “plan” involved Sherlock's secret sister, whom he'd forgotten existed due to blocking out traumatic childhood memories of her killing his best friend, whom Sherlock had also forgotten.

If that sounds ridiculous, that’s because it is, and even the show's biggest fans couldn't hide from that fact. Those fans, who were convinced that every insignificant detail of a Sherlock episode had a deep and specifically designed meaning, began to suggest that if this season was bad, it must have been bad on purpose, and that a secret fourth episode would explain everything.

Similar to what we’re seeing with Stranger Things fans today, Sherlock fans began decoding details from the show that they believed led to the conclusion that there would be more of the show, that would reveal the "truth." If Sherlock says, “People always stop looking after three?” in one episode, that must mean there’s a fourth episode. A picture of writer Mark Gatiss holding up four fingers? Must be a reference to a fourth episode (and not simply a reference to the fact it was Season 4). The signs were all there; it was all a big game, and you just had to play to the end to figure it out.

This led to a great deal of focus being placed on the first episode of the series that replaced Sherlock on the BBC after its season ended, Apple Tree Yard. The show included an actress whose last name was Watson, and its website apparently gave off a 404 error at one point (Season 4, Episode 4, don’t you get it?). Unfortunately, when the show aired, it was just Apple Tree Yard, and a lot of Sherlock fans were very upset.

Sometimes Bad TV Is Just Bad TV

I don’t know if Stranger Things' ending is really all that bad or not. I didn’t think the beginning was all that great, or I would have watched more than just the first season. I do know that when a show that you’ve loved starts to go south, it sucks. The problem is that this happens all the time.

Sometimes great writers leave shows and lesser ones take over. Sometimes great writers just have bad ideas. Nobody is perfect all of the time. The history of frustrating series finales is almost as long as that of TV itself. Stranger Things is nothing new. It's just the newest example.

The thing is, even if ConformityGate was real, it wouldn’t make the finale better. Whatever is wrong with the show’s final episode doesn’t disappear if a new episode arrives and retcons it. It just goes from being a bad final episode to a bad penultimate episode.

Can you believe it? One of the best Netflix TV shows, Stranger Things, is officially over! A lot of fans literally couldn’t believe, considering how widespread one theory about a secret episode got. But now that the dust is settling, we can keep talking about all the big moments from the final season. Ahead of the last episode, Noah Schnapp spoke to CinemaBlend about his thoughts on Will Byers’ coming out scene in Episode 7.

Noah Schnapp's Hopes For Will Byers' Coming Out Plotline

In “The Bridge”, which was the same episode that finally explained how the Upside Down works to audiences, Will Byers decides to round up his family and friends to share that he’s gay after having a deeper character arc in Part 1. In the scene, he’s sweetly embraced by everyone he comes out to, which eases his nerves about his future as a queer person. Here’s what Noah Schnapp had to say about the scene:

For years, Stranger Things fans theorized that Will might be gay, and in 2023, Noah Schnapp came out as a gay man on TikTok as well. The 21-year-old shared that he hopes the scene will “empower” other young queer kids who are dealing with a similar journey about their identity to embrace who they are. Additionally, he suggested that one doesn’t have to be from the LGBTQ+ community to identify with Will’s emotional journey throughout the series. He also said this:

While coming out scenes aren’t necessarily groundbreaking in Hollywood anymore, the episode takes place in 1987, when there was a lot more societal stigma, queer people regularly faced discrimination, and the HIV/AIDS outbreak had first occurred earlier in the decade.

Will Byers’ Ending Has Received A Mixed Reaction From Fans

It’s too early to talk about the long-term impact of Will Byers’ coming out scene, but we can talk about the response to the character’s ending as a whole so far. The Stranger Things finale discussion has definitely brought about a mixed array of responses from fans, and Will Byers’ ending is no different.

One common disappointment among fans was that Will and Mike (known as the ship name "Byler”) didn’t become romantic interests by the end of the show. Mike didn’t end up with either Will or Eleven after a lot of talk about the triangle over the years. On Schnapp’s Instagram post about the show being over, check out some of the fan comments:

• “Noah, I’m so sorry for that queer representation they (not) delivered. Thank you for what you tried to do for Will 💛 The most favourite character, and your performance was exquisite! Wish you to have good, meaningful parts in series and movies and hope to see good written queer characters performed by you. You’re truly a gift 💛” - @fridayoclock
• “Beautiful and sad and hopeful- perfect ending ❤️ thank you” - @miss.lostgirl_tattoos
• “But what about BYLER 😭☹️” - @123456789ahalalshs
• “this cannot be the ending 😭 i wanted byler so bad. queer people deserve to know they CAN get what they want and mike was so obviously closeted it hurts my soul.” - @kaliejcampbell
• “Thank you for giving us Stranger Things, we will love you forever❣️” - @vanessasergeantt

See what I mean? Lots of thoughts here. No matter your side, it was great to see Will Byers get to come into his own, and have a happy ending after a history of so many queer characters (especially in sci-fi TV) being killed off. What did you think?

Stranger Things is over (sorry, folks, #ConformityGate wasn’t actually a thing), and while there were aspects of the final season that I liked, I also have issues with a handful of the narrative choices. The one that has most consistently been bothering me is Linda Hamilton’s role as Dr. Kay. I was psyched when it was announced in June 2023 that the Terminator 2 actress was boarding the popular Netflix subscription-exclusive series, but now roughly two and a half years later, I’m disappointed by how poorly she was used and need to talk about it.

Dr. Kay Is As One-Dimensional As It Gets

Dr. Kay is essentially a blending of Matthew Modine’s Dr. Martin Brenner and Sherman Augustus’ Lt. Colonel Jack Sullivan (who was last seen in Season 5 recovering from his injuries sustained during Vecna’s attack). As the head of the military’s occupation of Hawkins, Indiana and its base in the Upside Down, Kay was injecting pregnant women with Kali’s blood in the hopes of restarting Brenner’s program with their babies. But Kali’s blood wasn’t cutting it, so Kay was desperate to capture Eleven to see if hers would do the trick with giving these offspring superpowers.

And, that’s basically the only function Dr. Kay served in Stranger Things Season 5. While there was at least an air of mystery surrounding her when it was unclear who the military was keeping imprisoned in the Upside Down, once that was revealed to be Kali, Kay felt like an afterthought. She and the soldiers continued to hunt down Eleven, but it amounted to nothing in the midst of our protagonists dealing with Vecna. We never learned anything about Kay beyond her drive to grow a new generation of superpowered children, and once the Upside Down was blown up, she just disappeared with no direct acknowledgment.

Dr. Kay Should Have Gotten A Personal Arc

Dr. Kay was one of only two new leading characters who were introduced in Stranger Things Season 5, the other being Derek. (I’d argue Holly Wheeler should count as a third given how much of a non-entity she was in the first four seasons, but that’s a different conversation.) While I wouldn’t call Derek one of my favorite Stranger Things characters, at least he felt like a fully fleshed-out individual. Dr. Kay was more of a tool to throw in simply to drive the plot forward.

With eight episodes ranging from 50 minutes to two hours each, some time should have been carved out to give Dr. Kay a personal arc. Maybe we could have learned about a connection she had with Brenner, hence why she was so keen on continuing his work. Maybe we could have flashed back to a traumatic event she experienced in the military that she believed she could prevent from happening again by creating super-powered people. I personally would have liked Kay to have factored into why we never saw Dr. Sam Owens again.

In any case, Linda Hamilton deserved better from her time on Stranger Things. My only hope now is that if the live-action spinoff in development takes place after Season 5, Dr. Kay is brought back for it. She has the potential to be a good character, but the now-concluded flagship show failed to utilize her properly.

A week has passed since the Stranger Things series finale released for viewers with a Netflix subscription, but getting answers about the Upside Down and seeing the inexplicable graduations of some of the kids hasn't stopped the theorizing from continuing into the 2026 TV schedule. Unfortunately for believers in the #ConformityGate theory that the secret real finale would release on January 7 at 8 p.m. ET, there was no bonus ninth episode to be found. I was never on board with Conformity Gate, but some evidence from Philadelphia Flyers mascot Gritty made me want to believe.

Conformity Gate was more or less already debunked before the 8 p.m. ET deadline on January 7, with the official Stranger Things Instagram account updating to include "ALL EPISODES OF STRANGER THINGS ARE NOW PLAYING" in the bio that morning. It wasn't exactly a statement from the Duffer Brothers, but the matter was still pretty settled. Nevertheless, the infamous Philadelphia Flyers mascot (who once threw shade at Dwayne Johnson) put up a pretty good case before the debunking. Take a look:

I'm no more a fan of the Philadelphia Flyers than I am a believer in Conformity Gate, but I'm not immune to the fun of Gritty going viral from time to time, and the mascot's Always Sunny in Philadelphia-esque conspiracy board about the Stranger Things finale really exemplifies his brand of chaos. I'm not even sure what my favorite part is, although the fact that all the images were clearly just printed off of a computer and taped up is pretty delightful.

I do agree with Gritty about Diana Ross' "Upside Down," which he marked as "this song SLAPS," and I get a kick out of the board including some of the more obscure pieces of Conformity Gate "evidence," including Karen and Nancy's epilogue haircuts (kind of) matching Henry's, the mention of milkshakes from Will's coming out speech, and "It's the SAME RING" in reference to Hopper seemingly proposing to Joyce with the same ring that Jonathan used to not-propose to Nancy.

Basically, the people who put the display together clearly did their homework, and I can appreciate the yarn being used to really make the whole display look like a murder board. I would have expected no less from a creature with eyes as blank and bulging as Gritty. The Vecna clock chime as soon as the video panned over to Gritty, wearing his dress shirt and tie? Perfection, as far as I'm concerned.

At the time of writing, Ross Duffer has not responded to Gritty's statement that the Stranger Things co-creator had "24 hours to respond," but Randy Havens – a.k.a. Mr. Clarke on four of Stranger Things' five seasons – commented:

There are far too many holes in the theory, even when artfully presented by Gritty, that I could never believe in #ConformityGate, but I don't think anybody could accuse believers of not doing their homework. There genuinely are details that I'd like explanations for from the Duffer brothers, including two continuity issues about Will Byers going back to Volume 1. I just never bought into a grand conspiracy.

Now that the question is settled and there is no secret ninth episode of Season 5, fans still don't have to face the end of Stranger Things. A documentary called One Last Adventure: The Making of Stranger Things 5 will release on Netflix on Monday, January 12. You can also revisit all five seasons streaming now.

It’s been about a week since the Stranger Things series finale turned my world upside down with all those big moments, revelations, and unanswered questions. I could go on and on about my theories about Eleven’s fate, where those spinoffs could go, and just about everything else under the sun. Instead, I have to talk about something else, something far nerdier than all of that, as surprising as it may sound. I’m talking easy-to-miss Easter Eggs, specifically those from one of the best sci-fi movies ever made: Terminator 2: Judgment Day!

This is nothing new for Stranger Things, which has referenced all kinds of movies, shows, and other pop culture references over the course of its run, but the one I’m about to discuss left me feeling like Leonardo DiCaprio in that one hilarious movie meme (you know the one).

There’s A Scene In The Stranger Things Finale Referencing The Icoinc Teminator 2 Hospital Sequence

Spoiler Warning: I’m going to get into some spoilers for the Stranger Things finale, so make sure you’re all caught up with your Netflix subscription before proceeding.

About 18 minutes into the Stranger Things Season 5 finale, “The Rightside Up,” I watched as Linda Hamilton’s villainous Dr. Kay walked around the WSQK radio station looking for those meddling kids. As she was walking through the nearly empty building, I noticed that the floor (as seen in the picture above) looked just like the black-and-white checkered linoleum seen in the legendary mental hospital sequence in Terminator 2: Judgment Day.

You know who else was in that icoinc scene from one of the best action movies ever made? You guessed it, Linda Hamilton. Though it was a bit of a role reversal in Stranger Things, and she didn’t turn into a liquid metal cyborg sent from the future to kill her son, I can’t help but think that this is a little Easter egg added by the Duffer Brothers. It’s just too obvious, right?

It Turns Out, There’s An Earlier Nod To Terminator 2 In Stranger Things 5 Part 1

When I finished the finale, I did what everyone in my position would do: I went to Reddit to see if anyone noticed. Though I couldn’t find anything at the time, I came across another Terminator 2 Easter egg that I completely overlooked. In a post on the Stranger Things subreddit, someone pointed out that in the scene in the Part 1 finale, “Sorcerer,” where Dr. Kay is torturing Hopper, she was holding a control panel that looked remarkably similar to the elevator control panel Sarah Connor used to drop the T-800 into the molten steel.

Like the nod in the series finale, this is a short and easy-to-miss moment, but that’s what makes it so much fun. It’s also funny seeing Linda Hamilton referencing those famous scenes as a villain this time around.

I don’t know when I’ll get around to making this happen (maybe when my kids are old enough), but I definitely plan on rewatching Stranger Things at some point in the future. I can’t wait to pick up on other Easter eggs and references I missed this first time around.

To say that Stranger Things’ series finale sparked debates is like saying the great Biblical flood caused some dampness. It’s now one of few TV shows with an ending so disputed that a chunk of the fandom conspiracy-theorized that their displeasure was the intent of creators Matt and Ross Duffer, and that a secret episode would be released with the”real” ending. That doesn’t seem to have panned out, but it seems clear that this will forever be in the much-discussed TV finale annals.

Considering its final season cemented Stranger Things as Netflix’s biggest domestic commodity, Millie Bobby Brown will likely always get asked about the show in interviews, regardless of what she’s promoting. But the Duffer brothers added some additional fuel to that fire by confirming Brown does indeed know the truth about Eleven’s fate, and whether or not Mike’s epilogue theorizing (which I take issue with) reflected reality or not.

Speaking on the Happy Sad Confused podcast, the co-creator siblings talked about a slew of topics regarding the finale and the franchise’s immediate future. Naturally, the conversation also turned to the mystery behind what really happened to Eleven, who seemingly sacrificed herself in the destruction of the Upside Down, with Mike later hypothesizing that she looped Kali in to keep her safe. Not that the Duffers actually clarified anything on that front, but they did confirm that there IS a hard answer, as opposed to an amorphous idea. As Matt Duffer put it:

In some ways, I fully understand where he's coming from, and I agree that shielding audiences from certain parts of the creative process is more or less necessary. Lots of truly great ideas come from truly stupid places, so knowing every inch of the ins and outs won't always add to one's enjoyment of a particular project. When it's about the unclear destiny of a Top 3 character, however, there should be more closure, more insight, more something that isn't just Mike's glass-half-full take shared with his friends that he'd literally just come up with that day.

Beyond fans' confused frustrations, though, the Duffers maybe should have thought about Millie Bobby Brown's own future before revealing that the actress 100% knows the answer. As Matt put it:

If only it were as easy as saying "Don't waste your time." IF ONLY. Don't get me wrong, I know that people would throw that question at her constantly even if Matt Duffer claimed that she didn't know the real answer, so just having a mysterious ending in and of itself is a double-edged sword in that way. But there's a big difference between a softballed "You really don't know what happened?" and a probing "Seriously, if you know, why can't you just say it?" One can only hope everyone's default mode will be "curiously polite."

When asked if Noah Schnapp might know anything, the brothers laughed, and then immediately went to work on making sure the answer to that was a resounding "Nope." Ross responded with:

As he was saying it, Matt was already pulling his phone out to text Brown to double-down on advising her to not share it with her good buddy, lest he also get hounded for the rest of time about what happened to Eleven.

All five seasons of Stranger Things are available to stream on Netflix, with the animated spinoff Tales from '85 hitting the 2026 TV schedule at a later point.

Caleb McLaughlin is fresh off the Stranger Things finale, which means he’s got more time than he’s ever had to take another big role. Fans are already pitching him to be in one of the upcoming Spider-Man movies as our live-action Miles Morales after the 24-year-old shared some incredible gymnastics moves.

On Monday morning, Caleb McLaughlin posted a series of videos of him flying through the air with a series of gymnast moves, captioning it “spinjutsu.” Check it out:

Now, you may not know it, but McLaughlin actually has a rather physical resume to his name, between having a background in not only gymnastics, but dance types like ballet, tap and jazz. His career actually started when he was cast as Simba in the Broadway version of The Lion King. It’s great to see him showing off his skills in this area as he moves on from Stranger Things, but we have to point out the common theme in the comment section.

• “Okay Spider-Man🔥” - @sanilovesmusic
• “Bro is ready for Miles Morales holyyy” - @rodrigo_a361
• “okay miles morales I see you 👀” - @realdonshea
• “Rd let’s start the protest MILES WE GOT U 🔥🔥🔥🔥” - @keetheartist_
• “Miles!?!? Is that you!???” - @ctrlkdeckentkingpin
• “Bro would actually kill it as Miles” - @radelortiz

Yeah, we can totally see this. The actor would be a solid choice to play Miles Morales, and he actually made our own list of actors who should play the live-action role months ago. I mean it’s only a matter of time before the MCU casts its Miles Morales, and McLaughlin already has some high-flying skills at his disposal he could bring to it.

McLaughlin actually called playing Miles Morales “a dream role” to Time just a couple of months ago while with his Stranger Things castmates. Funny enough, he’s already got an in for the MCU given Sadie Sink is set to be in Spider-Man: Brand New Day with Tom Holland, but it hasn’t been revealed officially what role she’ll play.

When Marvel Studios boss Kevin Feige was asked about when Miles Morales will be part of upcoming Marvel movies last July, he said that they’ve been told by Sony “to stay away” from the character until the animated franchise “finishes.” That note could definitely put a damper on McLaughlin’s chances at the role – especially since Beyond The Spider-Verse doesn’t come out until 2027. But hey, you never know what the studio is really cooking up!

Caleb McLaughlin does have another role already lined up post-Stranger Things. The actor is voicing the leading role in Sony’s animated sports movie, Goat, where plays a goat with dreams to “roarball.” It’s coming to theaters on February 13. It’s great to see the actor already branching out his career following the Netflix phenomenon, but this Miles Morales casting idea is just too good to forget!

Major spoilers below for Stranger Things’ series finale, so if you haven’t yet watched via Netflix subscription, then Vecna must have made you click on this article, so be warned!

It’s been a full week since Stranger Things unleashed its final episode on viewers — not that everyone believes it was the real final episode — and fans are still up in arms about quite a few of the resolutions that played out. Or should I say the lack of resolutions? Specifically, a vast amount of post-episode commentary has revolved around whether Millie Bobby Brown’s Eleven actually sacrificed herself, as it was shown, or if Mike’s far more hopeful exit scenario is the true outcome.

Personally, for all that I’d love to optimistically hold onto the idea that Eleven is out there watching waterfalls and trying to adjust to life without the threat of soldiers and demogorgons, I don’t buy Mike’s endgame theory for a couple of reasons. The first is wholly practical, in that I don’t believe the dying Kali was capable of doing the things Mike speculated. (Unless she purposefully made her injuries look worse than they were to fool Hopper, which is a whole other rabbit hole.) I also don’t think time was on their side.

But even beyond those more technical plot mechanics, I think the finale offered another another argument against Eleven having survived in the form of a somewhat surprising character return. That’s right, I’m talking about Ted Wheeler.

Ted Wheeler's Fate Went Unconfirmed For More Than Half Of Season 5

Remember back in Episode 2 when Ted Wheeler brought a golf club to a demogorgon fight? He took quite a short-form whooping that left him seemingly knocking on death's door. That presumption was halfway strengthened by the fact that his fate was all but ignored for the next five episodes, despite all the attention placed on each of the other Wheeler family members. Sure, one could have assumed he was still alive just based on tno one else seeming sad about his death, but the way episodes jumped from one place to the next, it might have taken weeks for anyone to realize he wasn't around.

Okay, that's probably hyperbolic. But considering Mike was off trying to save the world with Will, Joyce and others, while Holly was trying to escape Henry's clutches, and Karen was in the hospital rehabbing her own injuries, Ted wasn't exactly on the front of anyone's minds. Sure, viewers were curious about his whereabouts, and wondered why he wasn't shown, but it's not like he was vital for taking the Mind Flayer down.

Killing Ted off either at that point (or later in the season) feasibly could have been a way for the Duffer brothers to up the kill count without taking out another main character. But at long last, the ol' fuddy-duddy showed up again in the 18-months-later flash-foward for the Hawkins High graduation. And after my initial surprise at seeing him again, I started to think that maybe his fate was the wholly connected flip-side of Eleven's fate, in terms of Mike's emotional state.

I Think Ted Survived So That Mike's Grief Wasn't TOO Overwhelming

Obviously the "real" reason Ted survived is because his monster-related injuries weren't fatal. But from a creative perspective, I think it's possible he lived on so that Mike didn't have to spend the bulk of that 18-month span in a downward spiral of mourning an immediate family member on top of mourning his first love. Nobody wants to think about a beloved young character going through that kind of trauma.

So instead, upon seeing that Ted is alive and well, one only has to assume that his grief was entirely focused on Eleven, which then allows for his optimistic outlook to have peak impact. If he'd been too much of an emotional wreck during graduation day, it might have made his D&D-tethered theory sound far more desperate and nutty than idealistic.

Which, in turn, is proof in my mind that Eleven is 100% dead, because Mike can't have it both ways. Even if it's not really about Mike, and is more about Eleven and Ted, Finn Wolfhard's character is the one whose perspective we're still seeing in the end, so it's all relative to him. And if neither Ted nor Eleven paid the final price for Vecna's reign of terror, then Mike wouldn't have evolved all that much as a character, sad as it is to say so bluntly. The tragedy will probably make him a better writer as well.

Ted's Death Would Have Made Me Believe That Eleven Survived

Had the show revealed Ted to have died from his wounds, that actually would have been the ticket to make me far more willing to believe that Eleven lived on after the Upside Down was destroyed. Largely because I know the Duffer brothers aren't masochists who want their main characters to suffer a bunch, but that's all it takes really.

Again, it's still depressing to think about Mike being a total emotional wreck for part of the 18-month stretch before reaching his grand epiphany about the military's power-disrupting devices at the graduation. So this route still wouldn't have seemed like the most wonderful and ideal one to opt for. Especially not for all the viewers out there who are diehard Ted Wheeler fanatics and believe he's the true hero of the show. You guys exist, right? Hello?

I think it's great that Mike is still holding out an olive branch of hope to himself, but I'm equally glad that it's seemingly a small enough branch that he won't immediately try to scour the globe looking for her. Because he's not gonna find her. Because she dead as hell, y'all. [Slams the coffin lid down.]

The superhero genre has been changing lately, particularly on the DC side of things. Co-CEO James Gunn is crafting a new shared universe, with the first slate of projects titled Gods and Monsters. Fans have countless questions about which actors might take major roles in upcoming DC movies, and some epic fan art has imagined Stranger Things star Jamie Campbell Bower as none other than The Joker. Let's break it all down.

The first three titles in the DCU are currently streaming with a HBO Max subscription, and fans are especially curious about which actors will eventually play Batman and The Joker. There are all sorts of names being thrown around online, and now we can see what Bower might look like going from Vecna to the Clown Prince of Crime. Check it out below:

I mean, how cool is that? While there's been no indication that this casting is actually happening, you can't deny that Jamie Campbell Bower looks awesome in full Joker regalia. He's already played villains in a variety of projects including Stranger Things, and the Twilight movies, so he's certainly got the resume to support taking on a big DC role. But whether or not James Gunn is actually considering him is another question entirely.

The series finale of Stranger Things just arrived for those with a Netflix subscription, meaning that Bower's schedule should presumably be freed up quite a bit. Taking on the role of The Joker would likely include multiple titles across years of time, so it's going to be a big undertaking from whoever James Gunn casts in the role. Although exactly when the iconic DC villain will enter the burgeoning shared universe is currently a mystery.

While the DCU announced its first slate of projects upon its inception, there was no title that explicitly was focused on The Joker. But whoever lands the gig is going to have some big shoes to fill, considering how many Jokers we've already gotten on the big screen. That includes Heath Ledger and Joaquin Phoenix, who both earned Academy Awards for their portrayals.

Of course, there is the potential of seeing a version of Joker on the big screen in just a few years. Matt Reeves' The Batman introduced Barry Keoghan's Joker in a brief cameo, and fans are curious to see if he'll return in the sequel Part II. Unfortunately, that movie isn't expected to hit theaters until 2027, so we might be waiting a while before any casting announcements are made.

The next DC movie hitting theaters is Supergirl on June 26th as part of the 2026 movie release list. As for Jamie Campbell Bower, his tenure as Vecna in Stranger Things is available on its entirety on Netflix.