Hawkins’ lights have definitely gone out on Netflix. After five seasons of global success, the Stranger Things series concluded on January 1, 2026 with an eighth episode rich in emotion. But while some were still hoping for a sequel, the creators have decided: there will be no season 6.
It was in an interview with Première magazine and in an open letter relayed by the press that Matt and Ross Duffer confirmed that Stranger Things was indeed finished. “It’s really the end. We’re closing the portal to this chapter in Hawkins with Mike, Eleven, Hopper, Joyce and the others. It’s the conclusion of this story.”
An end long announced by the Duffers
This finale is not a sudden cancellation, but the culmination of a carefully considered narrative plan. The Duffer brothers warned fans when the fifth season was announced in 2022. “Seven years ago, we planned the complete story arc of Stranger Things. At the time, we predicted that the story would last four or five seasons.”
The series will have kept this promise: to explore in depth the destiny of Eleven and her friends, their fight against the Upside Down, until a conclusion that they wanted to be definitive. A way to “succeed in the exit”, as they have said several times.
Spin-offs in preparation at Netflix
But Stranger Things isn’t going away. The universe imagined by the Duffers continues to expand. An animated series called “Stranger Things: Tales from ’85” is already in production. Scheduled for 2026, it will immerse viewers in adventures prior to season 3, with the return of the voices of the original cast.
The creators are also working on another series, even more enigmatic. “We want to continue the Stranger Things universe. And in addition to the cartoon, we are currently writing a spin-off, which will not include any of the characters, nor Hawkins, nor the Upside Down, nor even the 1980s! It will absolutely have a Stranger Things feel, but it will be very different too…”
Theater, novels and nostalgia guaranteed
In addition to the screens, Stranger Things also takes over the stage. The room Stranger Things: The First Shadow is currently playing in London, as a prequel centered on Vecna. And novels like One Way or Anotherfocused on Nancy, already enrich the lore of the saga.
For fans, the Hawkins page has been turned, but the next lines remain to be written elsewhere. Stranger Things, in its original form, is ending, but the phenomenon continues to evolve, between nostalgia, creativity and new horizons.