‘Stranger Things’ creators Matt and Ross Duffer always knew how the series would end but they detail how important it was to nail the series finale …
“Stranger Things” is preparing to return for its fifth and final season on November 26 with the first four episodes followed by three more on Christmas day and then the series finale set for New Year’s Eve. The series which first launched all the way back in 2016 has become a pop culture phenomenon and one of the most watched shows in Netflix history and that means the pressure is ratcheted up even more to give fans a satisfying ending.
That concept isn’t lost on creators Matt and Ross Duffer, who are keenly aware of shows that build a loyal viewership over multiple seasons only to crash and burn during a series finale. The twin brothers believe shows like “Six Feet Under” and even “The Sopranos” really got it right, especially when it comes to matching the storytelling and tone of those series when coming to a conclusion.
“They have had their hearts broken by shows that they loved that failed fans in the end,” “Stranger Things” executive producer Shawn Levy told Variety “They did not want, and do not want, and refuse to be one of those shows.”
With so much anticipation and expectation wrapped around the “Stranger Things” series finale, the Duffer brothers admit they’ve had the actual ending in mind for years before actually penning the last script for the show.
“We knew roughly what the end scene was for years — it wasn’t something we had a strain to come up with,” Matt Duffer said. “There were elements of it that were discussed for weeks, but the core idea of the ending, we had for a really long time.”
Because “Stranger Things” features so many supernatural elements and mysteries that have been unleashed since the very first episode of the series, the Duffer brothers knew they had a lot of questions to answer before the final scene aired.
Each season became a challenge on how much they wanted to reveal, especially when it came to the origins of “The Upside Down” — the dark and foreboding alternate universe filled with monsters ruled over by Henry Creel aka One aka Vecna — but the brothers promise that everything will come together by the finale.
“We do every last remaining thing we wanted to do with the Demogorgons and Mind Flayer and Vecna and the Upside Down and Hawkins and these characters,” Matt Duffer said. “This is a complete story. It’s done.”
From storylines dating back to the first episode to 21 series regulars and eight episodes in the final season, the Duffer brothers definitely had their work cut out for them to bring everything full circle. But now that the series is just over a month out from returning, they’re confident that “Strangers Things” is going to come to a satisfying conclusion.
“It doesn’t feel like we dropped a storyline — it all connects.” Ross Duffer added.
Now just because the “Stranger Things” creators plan to address every dangling thread out there, doesn’t necessarily mean the show is going to ultimately just offer a happy ending.
Because this was the final season with the stakes so high, the Duffer brothers knew that there would be some new characters introduced — like “Terminator” star Linda Hamilton joining the show — but that also meant that everybody involved could “live or die.” Ultimately, they were happy with the result.
“We’re really happy with the way it ended,” Matt Duffer said. “It’s nerve-racking to put it out. I’m sure people will have opinions!”
The series finale clocks in “around two hours” according to the brothers with the episode titled “The Rightside Up” bringing everything to a conclusion when the episode drops on New Year’s Eve.
Check out the first teaser trailer below and stay tuned for more “Stranger Things” news as it becomes available!
