Stranger Things season 5 volume 1 episode lengths confirmed after divisive long-running episodes last season
Get ready for some more chunky episodes.
It's been a long time since Stranger Things season 4 debuted, but not long enough for fans to forget how long the episodes were.
The runtimes for the season were divisive, with the shortest episode running at 1 hour and 3 minutes and the longest running for an enormous 2 hours and 19 minutes.
Now, after plenty of speculation, the runtimes for the first batch of episodes from season 5 have been confirmed – and it seems they're not much shorter.
As confirmed by the show's co-creator Ross Duffer on his social channels, the first episode, called The Crawl, runs for 1 hour and 8 minutes, while episode 2, titled The Vanishing of…, runs for 54 minutes.
The other two episodes in the first volume, titled The Turnbow Trap and Sorcerer respectively, will run for 1 hour and 6 minutes and 1 hour and 23 minutes each.
While this is the first time an episode has run for less than an hour since season 3 episode 7 back in 2019, it should be noted that these are only the first four, and traditionally episodes have got longer as the seasons have gone along. We are yet to find out the runtimes for the remaining episodes.
Volume 1 of season 5 will be released in the UK on Thursday 27th November, with volume 2 coming on Boxing Day and the third and final volume coming on New Year's Day.
As expected, the cast and crew have been keeping details of the sci-fi show's ending close to their chests, but Mike Wheeler star Finn Wolfhard has spoken a little about his character's personal end point.
He told People magazine: "I was so happy with his ending, and I don't know, I was satisfied, but I was also very confused and sad, but also very happy."
"I felt like I was in a dream or something," he added. "None of it felt real. I don't know, it felt perfect."
Speaking of what it was like filming the last remaining scenes, Wolfhard told the publication: "I just couldn't believe it at all.
"It didn't really start to go into focus until the next day. It was like an emotional hangover. But it ended really well, and I just have such positive things to say about everyone."
Stranger Things season 5 volume 1 will be released on Thursday 27th November in the UK. Seasons 1-4 are available on Netflix now. Sign up for Netflix from £5.99 a month. Netflix is also available on Sky Glass and Virgin Media Stream.
Check out more of our Sci-Fi coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more TV recommendations and reviews, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
Authors
James Hibbs is a Drama Writer for Radio Times, covering programmes across both streaming platforms and linear channels. He previously worked in PR, first for a B2B agency and subsequently for international TV production company Fremantle. He possesses a BA in English and Theatre Studies and an NCTJ Level 5 Diploma in Journalism.
