After five seasons, Netflix's horror hit Stranger Things is coming to an end. While fans won't have to fully grapple with the end of the series until the final episodes air (which is currently expected to happen sometime in 2025), the cast and crew had to say their goodbyes when filming wrapped on the final season (a milestone Netflix confirmed in a post on X—née Twitter—on December 20).
"THAT'S A WRAP ON STRANGER THINGS. See you in 2025," the streamer wrote in the post, along with a collage of images from the Stranger Things set.
THAT'S A WRAP ON STRANGER THINGS. See you in 2025. pic.twitter.com/DWkIwMMOJ3December 20, 2024
Netflix may have kept it short and sweet and generally chill when it posted about Stranger Things wrapping for good, but since she's a human and not a giant corporation, Millie Bobby Brown had a much more emotional take.
The 20-year-old actress, who landed what turned out to be her breakthrough role as Eleven on the series when she was just 11 years old, shared an emotional post on Instagram, with a carousel that included seven pictures commemorating her time playing the character.
While she didn't say much in the post's caption (which was simply, "with love, el ❤️"), the let the words flow in a video the end of the carousel. That place of honor is where Brown shared a clip form her last day on set, in which she read an emotional speech comparing wrapping the series to graduation day.
“And isn't graduation supposed to bring relief? Like you're glad to leave behind the teachers and classmates. Not me. I am nowhere near ready to leave you guys,” she said to an audience of cast and crew members who gathered around as she read the message off her phone (proving that it was something she put real thought into, as if the emotion in her voice didn't do that on its own).
Brown kept her remarks (or at least the portion she was willing to share with strangers on the internet) brief, and ended by adding, "I love each and every one of you and I will forever carry the memories and bonds we created together as a family. I love you, thank you.”
The Damsel actress wasn't the only member of the cast to post a goodbye tribute to Stranger Things are the series finished filmed. On Friday, Finn Wolfhard, who plays Mike Wheeler in the show, shared a carousel of three favorite images from his time on set.
"We just wrapped Stranger things Season 5. I’m still in shock. We shot it for a year and I’ll miss all of my friends and our characters terribly," he wrote in the post's caption. "When I think of the show, I picture this first photo. A bunch of goofy young people making something they think is cool but really have no clue what’s to come. I feel like we’re still those people and I’m lucky to still stand beside them today. I hope you’ll love this season as much as I do. See you all next year. 🚲🚲🚲🚲"
Noah Schnapp, who plays WIll Byers on the series, shared a Stranger Things tribute of his own in the form of a top 10 list commemorating some of the things he's most grateful for about members of the cast and crew.
"Growing up I always felt like an outcast, unsure of where I fit in. Navigating life in the spotlight while carrying this feeling, through every awkward phase and embarrassing moment exposed for the world to see, has definitely been an unusual experience. But I’ve been honored to share it with my incredible co-stars, who understand it in a way that no one else can," he wrote in a personal note at the end of the lengthy post caption. “'Stranger Things' was more than a job; it was a lifelong dream. A dream made reality thanks to the Duffers. Thank you for taking a chance on me when I was just a 10 year old kid and entrusting me with something so important to you both. Together, this cast + crew has built something so very special, and I couldn’t be any more excited for the world to see the final chapter. Stranger Things is a never ending story for me - it’s in my heart forever.❤️"
Sadie Sink (aka Max Mayfield) also focused on gratitude in her post commemorating the show's final day of filming.
"That’s a series wrap on Stranger Things," she captioned her own carousel of behind-the-scenes pictures from set. "This show, character, and every person involved made me who I am. It gave me the most amazing childhood. It brought me to my best friends. Saying goodbye is so painful, but I leave with memories and love to last a lifetime. I’m eternally grateful ❤️"
