The last trip to Hawkins is loading. Stranger Things season 5 is confirmed as the final chapter and, yes, everyone is looking for an honest avis right now. Key fact first : Netflix has not released any episodes to critics, so there are no formal reviews yet. What exists is solid, verifiable context – production is underway, the creators called the endgame, and season 4’s scale set a high bar for what comes next.
Filming on season 5 began on 8 January 2024 after strike delays, with Netflix sharing a cast table read image the same day (Variety, 8 Jan. 2024). The Duffer Brothers stated in an open letter that “Season 5 will be the last” (Netflix, Feb. 2022). Expectations are sky-high for a reason : season 4 drew about 1.35 billion hours viewed in its first 28 days, one of Netflix’s biggest English-language TV launches at the time (Netflix Top 10, 2022). That is the baseline fans are measuring the finale against.
Stranger Things Season 5 : the state of play
Where things stand today is clear. Writing paused during the 2023 WGA strike and resumed once the deal was reached, with cameras rolling in early 2024 (Variety, 8 Jan. 2024). Netflix has not announced a release date, and no episode screeners have circulated. So a fair avis hinges on what is confirmed, not speculation.
The returning ensemble remains the heartbeat : Millie Bobby Brown, Finn Wolfhard, Gaten Matarazzo, Caleb McLaughlin, Sadie Sink, Noah Schnapp, David Harbour, Winona Ryder, Maya Hawke and Joe Keery are all back (Netflix). New energy joins too. Linda Hamilton’s casting was revealed during Netflix’s Tudum event in June 2023 (Netflix Tudum, June 2023), a clear sign the final run wants fresh sparks without losing its core.
Storywise, season 4 ended on a cliff edge. Volume 1 dropped on 27 May 2022, Volume 2 on 1 July 2022, and the finale ran 2 hours 22 minutes with Hawkins visibly torn by the Upside Down’s incursion (Netflix). That last image sets the tone fans can expect : a homefront battle, higher stakes, fewer safe corners.
What early “avis” really measures : tone, scope, stakes
With no episodes out, the real question becomes this : does the set-up point to a satisfying end. The signs tilt toward a back-to-basics focus on the original group, but with the scale learned across seasons 3 and 4. Season 4’s nine episodes proved the show can juggle multiple threads yet still stick the emotional landing in the final stretch. That craft matters going into a finale.
Numbers help frame the pressure. At roughly 1.35 billion hours in 28 days, season 4 sat near the top of Netflix’s all-time English-language series at its release window (Netflix Top 10, 2022). Big audiences mean tighter marketing cycles and review embargos closer to launch. Translation : credible critic avis will likely drop right before the premiere, not weeks earlier.
There is also the calendar reality. The SAG-AFTRA and WGA strikes in 2023 shifted many schedules, and Stranger Things moved with them. Production restarting in January 2024 is concrete. Post-production on a VFX-heavy series typically stretches many months, so patience is part of any honest assessment of when full reviews can exist.
Cast, new faces et release signals on Netflix
The cast continuity alone is a good signal for tone control. The emotional arcs begun in 2016 – Eleven’s autonomy, Hopper’s second chances, the kids growing up on screen – can actually close with the same faces steering them. Adding Linda Hamilton hints at a tougher, perhaps more militarized layer without drowning the show’s coming-of-age roots (Netflix Tudum, June 2023). That balance is what many are watching for.
As for release signals, Netflix’s pattern with major tentpoles is consistent : a teaser well ahead, a main trailer closer to launch, then review embargos lifting near premiere week. Season 4 followed that playbook across its two-volume rollout in May and July 2022. Expect a similar drumbeat. Until then, the only verified verdict is that the creators promised an ending and are actively making it. Anything beyond that is just noise, definitly.
So the clean, current Stranger Things saison 5 avis reads like this : final season confirmed, production in motion since 8 January 2024, no release date yet, no critic reviews in circulation, and a gigantic season 4 performance setting expectations sky-high (Variety, Netflix Top 10, Netflix Tudum). The next meaningful data point will arrive with Netflix’s first official footage – then the conversation shifts from hopes to evidence.