Stranger Things creators reveal "very emotional" reactions to ending scenes – as stars talk final goodbye

This article first appeared in Radio Times magazine.

Stranger Things has a history of setting and releasing its series during major US holidays, whether that’s season 2's Halloween theme – which featured a deadly pumpkin patch – or the firework-laden 4th of July setting of Stranger Things 3. So, with the final ever episodes of the hit Netflix series airing over the Christmas period, we had to ask the two men who created it – why have you not made a Christmas special?

“Like the Star Wars Holiday Special, something like that?” laughs series co-creator Matt Duffer, referencing the infamously awful 1978 straight-to-TV spin-off. “Sadly, there is no Stranger Things Holiday Special. When we were working on it, we didn’t know exactly what the release date was.”

Still, that doesn’t mean it’s completely divorced from the festive season. The Duffers have cited Yuletide classic Home Alone as a key influence on this final series – particularly its homespun traps – and lest we forget, one of the key images of the show has always been ominously flickering Christmas lights… “And we do like the idea of releasing it on Christmas,” adds Matt.

“Just because we’re film guys and big films were often released at Christmas. We like the idea of people watching it together. So instead of just sitting there by yourself watching on a phone, perhaps it encourages people to sit down as a family or with a group of friends.”

Following a cliffhanger episode four released in late November, three more episodes will be released on Boxing Day, while the finale – so secret even the actors aren’t allowed to see it beforehand – drops on New Year’s Eve. The final battle for Hawkins between Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown) and Vecna (Jamie Campbell Bower) will also be shown in certain cinemas in America.

“It’s really nice that we’re not going to have any super fans rushing ahead and spoiling it,” says Matt’s twin brother and co-creator Ross Duffer. “Everyone can experience that last episode at the same time.”

“Filming the ending was very emotional,” Matt continues. “We made it so everybody’s final scene in the show was their final day on the set. Each of those days was really hard, but I would argue it was harder for me and Ross, because we had to experience it many, many times for everybody’s final day!”

Certainly, emotions ran high for the series’ original trio. For Finn Wolfhard, Gaten Matarazzo and Caleb McLaughlin – who play nerds-turned-heroes Mike, Dustin and Lucas – these final episodes marked the end of their childhoods. Now in their 20s, they were only 13 or 14 when the series began in 2016.

“I’ve been on the show for almost half my life,” says McLaughlin. “It’s a big part of what I know. It’s moulded me into the actor I am now, the person I am today. It’s my childhood experience.

“So saying goodbye is one of those bittersweet moments. It’s hard. But all good things come to an end. I don’t think we would cherish it if it didn’t end.”

“I didn’t cry once!” jokes Wolfhard. “I mean, we shot for so long, we shot a year for this series, and then before that, eight years. So it was a long process of figuring out how to process it.”

But will the fans be equally as emotional to say goodbye to Mike, Lucas, Dustin, Eleven and the rest? “I hope fans will feel really satisfied,” says Matarazzo. “It’s very special to us, and we’ve heard from a lot of people that it’s special to them. So we can imagine a good amount of tears just because the whole process is wrapping up.

“It’s heavy, you know? It’s five seasons. It’s a decade long, something that a lot of people have invested a good amount of time into. It’ll definitely have an impact.”

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Stranger Things 5 premieres on Netflix on Wednesday 26th November. Further episodes follow on Christmas Day and New Year's Eve.

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