Netflix released this Monday (30) the trailer for the final episode of Stranger Things, set to premiere on December 31 at 5:00 p.m. (PT). Choosing New Year’s Eve for its conclusion, the series turns the moment into more than a release date: it becomes a shared farewell, marking the end of an era for Hawkins and for the fans who grew up alongside it.

While the episode arrives at the same moment worldwide, only a few audiences will watch it as the year actually turns. In Brazil, for instance, the farewell to Hawkins unfolds in real time, between the final hours of December 31 and the anticipation of what comes next (Any theories on that? Cause I have, obviously).

The episode brings the fifth and final season to a close, released in three parts. Volume 1, with four episodes, arrived on November 26; Volume 2, consisting of three episodes, was released on Christmas Day. Now, the final chapter steps into a symbolic space usually reserved for reflection, endings, and the quiet hope that comes with new beginnings.

Created by the Duffer Brothers, Stranger Things premiered in 2016 as a love letter to 1980s cinema and quickly grew into one of Netflix’s defining titles. Set in the seemingly quiet fictional town of Hawkins, Indiana, the series follows a group of kids and teenagers drawn into secret government experiments, supernatural forces, and a parallel dimension known as the Upside Down, a place that has always felt uncomfortably close to our own.

Over the years, the show has delivered not just impressive numbers, but real cultural resonance. The fourth season alone surpassed 140 million global views, while Kate Bush’s “Running Up That Hill” returned to the charts nearly four decades after its release. With more than 70 awards, including Emmys® and a Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Ensemble in a Drama Series, Stranger Things helped shape what pop culture looks like in the streaming era.

The franchise has long outgrown the limits of television. The world created by the Duffer Brothers expanded into theatre with Stranger Things: The First Shadow, immersive experiences, books, video games, live events, and upcoming projects like an animated series. November 6 — the day Will Byers disappeared — became an annual ritual for fans, celebrated as Stranger Things Day, blurring the line between fiction and our own calendar.

Now, on the edge of a new year, Stranger Things turns its ending into a ceremony. Between fireworks, retrospectives, and the weight of saying goodbye, Hawkins closes its doors. When the countdown reaches zero, it won’t just signal a new beginning, it will quietly seal the portal between their world and ours.

Check out the finale trailer right below: