Stranger Things season five part one has just landed on Netflix and fans are already begging for more.
Stranger Things is “not over”, with multiple spin-offs in the works as the unforgettable sci-fi drama begins its final chapter.
Stranger Things has been a global phenomenon since it originally debuted in 2016 and now, nine years later, its story is finally getting wrapped up as the gang do everything they can to destroy Vecna for good.
While it will be a devastating loss for Netflix fans, this won’t be the end as it’s already been confirmed that the franchise is going to be expanding with new spin-offs.
Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos confirmed the good news at the Stranger Things season five London premiere, sharing: “The world of Hawkins, Indiana and the Upside Down, it’s not over.”
Stranger Things spin-offs
Stranger Things: Tales from ’85
The first show to be announced was an animated series entitled Stranger Things: Tales from ‘85, which is set to be released next year.
Its official synopsis reads: “Set in Hawkins, Indiana in the winter of 1985, where Eleven and her friends unravel a paranormal mystery terrorizing their town.”
Unfortunately, the original cast is not listed as voiceover artists for the animated series with newcomers taking on their iconic characters.
Stranger Things: One Way or Another
Stranger Things will also be taking on a new format with a novel, which has been labelled as “A Nancy Wheeler Mystery”, on the way.
Written by Caitlyn Schneiderhan, Stranger Things: One Way or Another takes place between the events of seasons four and five and follows Nancy and Roby Buckley as they investigate a fellow Hawkins student.
The description teases: “When fellow classmate Joey Taft starts acting shifty at graduation, Nancy is convinced Vecna’s found his newest victim.
“Joined by fellow amateur sleuth Robin Buckley, Nancy doesn’t waste any time questioning Joey.
“What the girls discover leads them down the path of a bigger story than The Hawkins Post could ever have assigned Nancy.”
Fans won’t have to wait very long either for the book to be out as it’s set to be published next week, Tuesday, December 2.
Rumoured live-action spin-off
What’s possibly even more exciting though is there is another rumoured spin-off currently in development.
According to The Duffer Brothers’ IMDb pages, a series labelled “Untitled Stranger Things spin-off series” is currently in pre-production.
It has been reported that this could be another live-action series but for now, there has been no official confirmation on if this is really going ahead or what form it will take.
Either way though, with talk of these spin-offs as well as the ongoing success of the live stage show Stranger Things: The First Shadow, it doesn’t look like it will be the end just yet.
Stranger Things season five, part two, premieres on Christmas Day, Thursday, December 25, in the US, and Boxing Day, Friday, December 26, on Netflix.
Before the sci-fi series “Stranger Things” premiered on Netflix, several traditional studios had already passed on it. Its creators were first-time show runners, unknown young actors were cast in lead roles, and even though the show starred kids, it was not for children.
That was nine years ago.
The 1980s-set show about a monster that wreaks havoc on fictional Hawkins, Ind., hit a chord with Netflix’s global subscribers. “Stranger Things” has since become one of the streamer’s most culturally significant shows, with its fourth season garnering 140.7 million views in its first three months and ranking third among its top English-language series. It was instrumental in growing new branches of business for Netflix, including live events, a Broadway production and inspired brands eager to partner on licensed merchandise. It became a major franchise for the platform, a chance to build a universe around its central characters and create its own version of “Star Wars.”
Rayna Lynn Chacon, 26, from Los Angeles dresses as Eleven from “Stranger Things” during the Netflix x CicLAvia event.
(Kayla Bartkowski / Los Angeles Times)
The show helped build Netflix’s reputation as a place that makes big bets on original ideas and, if it’s a hit, can build a large fandom for such programs with its worldwide subscriber base.
Netflix took a chance on show runner brothers Matt and Ross Duffer. The pair never imagined the series, which held its first premiere in Silver Lake at Mack Sennett Studios, would take off the way it did.
That wasn’t lost on Matt Duffer, who stood on stage at the final season premiere inside the historic TCL Chinese Theatre in Hollywood earlier this month. It was the same place “Star Wars” premiered in 1977.
“For me, as a nerd, this is a dream come true,” Duffer told the audience.
In an interview, Bela Bajaria, the chief content officer at Netflix, lauded the success of the series: “You could take a bet on an original story, and grow it to a major franchise that has massive global appeal.”
Other Netflix shows, like “House of Cards,” have certainly captured the zeitgeist before, but co-CEO Ted Sarandos said he believes “Stranger Things” stands above some previous hits.
“This was a lot closer to a ‘Star Wars’ moment,” Sarandos said speaking on stage at the “Stranger Things” final season premiere in Hollywood earlier this month. “This is a show, and these are characters that move the culture, that spawned live events and consumer products and spinoffs and sequels … Everything from the first episode of the first season to ‘The First Shadow,’ the Broadway show, the origin story of the Upside Down, it has been and continues to be a remarkable addition to entertainment culture.”
The four past seasons of “Stranger Things” made it into Netflix’s Top 10 this past week, Netflix said. From 2020 to the second quarter of 2025, “Stranger Things” earned more than $1 billion in global streaming revenue for Netflix and was responsible for more than 2 million new subscriber acquisitions, according to estimates from Parrot Analytics, which tracks streaming data. Netflix declined to comment on Parrot’s estimates.
“Every single streaming service needs that anchor series that drives customer acquisition and helps define the original programming,” said Brandon Katz, director of insights and content strategy at Greenlight Analytics, adding for Hulu it was “The Handmaid’s Tale” and for Disney+, “The Mandalorian.” “’Stranger Things’ has undoubtedly been that for Netflix. Every few years that it does air, Netflix knows there is a guaranteed high ceiling of acquisition, retention and viewership power,” Katz said.
Participants bike past a Demogorgon sleigh during the Netflix x CicLAvia event.
(Kayla Bartkowski / Los Angeles Times)
“Stranger Things” also helped Netflix expand into licensed goods, with brands eager to partner with the platform. There are themed Eggo breakfast foods, Lego sets and clothing.
The series “has been a catalyst for Netflix to explore all of the ways in which a single entertainment property can be turned into an entire global lifestyle,” said Robert Thompson, director of the Bleier Center for Television and Popular Culture at Syracuse University.
Its popularity has helped other creative collaborators as well.
Artists whose songs were featured on the show climbed the charts. Kate Bush’s “Running Up That Hill” was featured in Season 4 and reached No. 1 on the Billboard Global 200 and No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100, 37 years after its original release, Netflix said. Metallica’s 1986 song “Master of Puppets” also broke the U.K. Top 30 for the first time after it played during the Season 4 finale, the streamer added.
The series has been recognized with more than 65 awards and 175 nominations. Netflix estimates “Stranger Things” has helped create 8,000 production-related jobs in the U.S. over its five seasons and, since 2015, contributed more than $1.4 billion to U.S. GDP. In California, Netflix estimates the series contributed more than $500 million of GDP.
Netflix is doing a large marketing push with fan events in 28 cities and 21 countries as the series draws to a close. On Sunday, the streamer hosted a bike ride on a stretch of Melrose Avenue in partnership with CicLAvia where 50,000 fans were encouraged to dress in ’80s attire, or as a “Stranger Things” character. On Thursday, a “Stranger Things” float appeared in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade.
The company began a phased release of the final season with four episodes that debuted Wednesday. Another three episodes will land on Christmas Day and a two-hour finale Dec. 31 on Netflix. The finale will also play in more than 350 movie theaters in the U.S. and Canada on Dec. 31 and Jan. 1.
“Stranger Things” fans Kelly Audrain and Jason Serstock said they have been rewatching the show from the beginning to refresh their memories on the whole tale, and were still on Season 2 as of earlier this month. The couple attended the premiere of the last season in Hollywood.
“The whole costuming and everything was so perfect that you just feel like you’re taken back to the ’80s,” 29-year-old Audrain said, who was dressed as “Stranger Things” character Eleven in a pink dress and sporting a mock bloody nose.
Lilia Lupercio, 53, left, Audrey Haluska, 15, center, and Janet Lupercio, 45, right, from Downey pose for a photograph with a “Stranger Things” backdrop.
(Kayla Bartkowski / Los Angeles Times)
Netflix is expanding the show’s universe with the animated series “Stranger Things: Tales from ‘85” next year. In April, Netflix’s “Stranger Things: The First Shadow” stage play hit Broadway. The company has also opened “Stranger Things” pop-up stores, held live experiences and will feature immersive experiences at its Netflix House locations, including “Stranger Things: Escape the Dark” in Dallas. In Las Vegas, Netflix will offer themed foods like Surfer Boy Pizza at its Netflix Bites restaurant.
The Duffers recently told Deadline a spinoff is in the works at Netflix. Bajaria declined to share anything about that but said, “I think the world is really rich and there’s still a lot of story in there.”
But there are challenges ahead. Netflix, seen as the leader in subscription streaming, has had two major flagship series end this year — “Stranger Things” and Korean-language drama “Squid Game.” Analysts say the company will need to keep pumping out popular shows and movies to keep subscribers coming back.
Netflix has successfully expanded its “Squid Game” franchise to include reality competition series “Squid Game: The Challenge,” where more than 95% of watchers also tuned into the scripted series. Other popular franchises like Addams family series “Wednesday,” pirates tale “One Piece” and Regency-era romance “Bridgerton” are ongoing. Netflix’s hit animated movie “KPop Demon Hunters” will get a sequel.
Separately, Netflix placed a bid on parts of Warner Bros. Discovery, with interest in Warner’s Burbank studios and HBO, according to people familiar with the matter. If the acquisition is successful, it would greatly expand Netflix’s library of titles and intellectual property.
While the Duffer brothers still have projects with Netflix, they recently signed a four-year exclusive deal with Paramount for feature films, TV and streaming projects. Some industry observers viewed that as a loss for Netflix.
Omar Chavez, 42, left, and Jenna Chavez, 28, right, from West Hollywood walk past a poster during the Netflix x CicLAvia event.
(Kayla Bartkowski / Los Angeles Times)
“The Duffers are so young, and they’re just really beginning their journey,” said Tom Nunan, a former studio and network executive. “I have no doubt they’ll be pushing out more hits and more of a variety of successes in the future,” he said, adding that the brothers’ work at Paramount could compete with Netflix.
A Stranger Things fan has dubbed the finale as an ’emotional betrayal’ speaking out about how unfair it is that the new year will be dominated by the popular Netflix show
11:07, 28 Nov 2025Updated 11:08, 28 Nov 2025
They were fuming about one thing(Image: Netflix)
The first part of the final season of Stranger Things released yesterday (November 27) in the UK, and fans are already going wild for what happens in the first four episodes. Binge-watching has been compulsory for so many fans of the 80s-themed spooky show, and people are already raving about it, saying how much they’d missed it. But some are less than impressed with the decisions made by Netflix.
Someone took to the Reddit ‘Stranger Things’ forum saying they felt absolutely “cheated” by one thing Netflix has decided to do with the Stranger Things finale. A viewer in India said that “everything fell apart” for them when they checked the schedule for when the next episodes were out.
In the UK, episodes one to four were released on November 27, and episodes five to seven will be released on Christmas Day, with the finale on New Year’s Eve. However one Indian superfan was left devastated when she realised that they were out at a different time.
They wrote: “Right now it is Nov 24 in India and I’m really excited for season five, so I decided to check the exact release time for India, and everything fell apart.
“All this time, I kept reading the dates as November 26, December 25, and December 31. That’s the pattern my brain assumed.
“But when I actually looked it up, I realised the finale lands on January 1 in India because of the worldwide simultaneous release. And honestly, this has thrown me off completely.
“Ending my year with Stranger Things and starting my year with Stranger Things are two very different emotional experiences. The difference is huge. I was expecting to wrap up 2025 with closure, not begin 2026 with emotional chaos, anxiety, or whatever heartbreak the finale is going to bring”.
They then referred to it as an “emotional betrayal,” saying “this timing has hit me harder than I expected,” saying that they had to write it “somewhere” because they feel “bad about it”.
In the comments, however, people tried to give them a bit of perspective, saying that it was exciting anyway.
One wrote: “Bro, it’s a TV show, not the end of the world.”
“Emotional betrayal? I think that’s a bit dramatic…” somebody else wrote.
A fan shared: “This is what the US has had to deal with for all the previous releases, despite the show being based here.
“I feel bad because it does suck choosing between waking up in the early hours like 2-6am or trying to avoid spoilers until after work the following day to watch, but it’s nice to end it with us being the lucky ones the last time around”.
The original poster responded, however, saying they didn’t have an issue with time; it was “the date” they had a problem with, as they didn’t want to start 2026 feeling devastated by what is likely to be a traumatic finale.
This article contains spoilers for Season 5, Volume 1 of “Stranger Things.”
If anyone visited Jamie Campbell Bower in the days before he secured the role of Vecna in “Stranger Things,” they might have been disturbed by what they found.
Bower had spent that period “kind of going crazy,” studying the audition materials he had been given — a scene from the series (with fake character names), one from the 1996 film “Primal Fear” and one from the ‘80s horror classic “Hellraiser.” He then crafted a whodunit-style vision board, pinning printed images of iconic movie villains onto his walls. He latched onto Doug Bradley’s Pinhead and incorporated Voldemort, Nosferatu, Dracula and images from “The Shining,” “Insidious” and “The Prince of Darkness.”
Bower had essentially made a shrine to villainy. But what better way is there to make a monster than to draw from the scariest and most spine-chilling in the game?
He thumbed through a neat binder with all of the reference images that were once tacked to his walls as he sat in a hotel room at the Four Seasons earlier this month that was done up in “Stranger Things” decor. Although he had pulled ideas and inspiration from several different characters and movies, he couldn’t shake Bradley’s work from his mind.
He wanted Vecna to feel “so poised, so considered and surgical, almost. And Pinhead is that. He doesn’t run. Pinhead never runs. He knows that he’s an ultimate power all the time,” Bower said. “That feels really strong for me. I really, really like that.”
In addition to playing the monster, Bower plays the man he once was, Henry Creel, in “Stranger Things,” Netflix’s supernatural sensation, which released the first batch of episodes for its fifth and final season Wednesday. Henry, who we first meet as a young boy with powerful psychokinetic abilities, evolves throughout the show from the first child test subject in Hawkins Labs to the powerful Vecna after he’s banished to the Upside Down.
As he devolves in the dark, decaying shadow dimension, he becomes less and less human in both spirit and appearance. His skin is scorched by lightning, his body is overtaken by the vines from the Upside Down, and his left hand is mutilated. He has a deep, booming voice, which is actually Bower speaking without manipulation in post-production. And in Season 4, most of what the audience sees of Vecna — the vines wrapped around his body, his mutilations and burns, the slimy texture of his skin, his startling walk and movement — was pulled off practically with prosthetics, appliances and makeup.
Bringing Vecna to life was no easy feat, with a lot of cross-departmental collaboration happening behind the scenes. In Season 4, where Vecna is first introduced, the team built full-body prosthetics based on concept art for the character that took roughly eight hours to apply on Bower.
But for Season 5, the creatives behind the show were looking to make “Vecna on steroids,” as Barrie Gower, the prosthetics wiz for “Stranger Things,” put it.
Vecna has a sharper appearance and broader stance in Season 5 of “Stranger Things.”
(Netflix)
Michael Maher Jr., a concept illustrator and visual effects supervisor who had cooked up the earliest iterations of Vecna, said the show’s creators, brothers Matt and Ross Duffer, wanted Vecna to feel more powerful this season, “but not [in] the cliché, bigger and bulkier way.” They also wanted the extent of his injuries from the Season 4 finale, where his opponents set him on fire, shoot him repeatedly and send him flying out of a second-story window, to be evident.
Maher said he was sculpting to ideate on this new version of the character when he accidentally punched a hole in the figure’s torso. It was a serendipitous moment, however; it clicked for him that Vecna 2.0 could be simultaneously more exposed and sharper. The vines that overtook his body now have a Medusa-like quality near his head and shoulders, essentially serving as armor, Maher said.
His mutilated arm and hand, which was already terrifying with its long digits and sharp claws that he would draw close to his victims’ faces, is now extendable, as if he has become one with the vines of the Upside Down.
Because of Vecna’s souped-up look for the final season, a blend of practical and visual effects were used to accomplish the final look. Gower called it a “really beautiful marriage” of the two. The monster’s head, shoulders and right arm were made up of prosthetics, but for the rest, Bower wore a spandex suit that had a printed pattern of Vecna’s body from Season 4, serving as a reference for the visual effects team. Bower also wore foam inserts under his arms to capture the gait and broad stance of the creature.
Gower said with all of the moving parts and elements of Vecna’s body that they wanted to change for the new season, it would have been a “logistical nightmare” to pull off practically. He and Maher’s teams had lengthy conversations early on in the process to prevent overbuilding the prosthetics, Gower said. Creating the new look took about three months.
The team behind Vecna opted for a blend of prosthetics, appliances and a spandex suit to film Season 5. (Niko Tavernise / Netflix)
The character Will Byers (Noah Schnapp) and Vecna come face-to-face in Season 5. (Niko Tavernise / Netflix)
When the Duffer Brothers and Maher were initially talking about the design of Vecna, they drew from Pinhead and Freddy Krueger in the same way Bower did for his performance. The creatives had been pulling from ‘80s classic movies for the “nostalgia quality,” Maher said, but the challenge for him was creating something that still felt fresh and reflected Vecna’s power. He wanted to make it clear Vecna was “a character that is mostly powerful with his mind, that really resonates as a villain,” he said.
By 2019 as the developmental process for the concept art was moving along, the Duffer Brothers approached Gower, whose work on “Game of Thrones” and “Chernobyl” they admired. Gower has a young daughter who was an avid fan of “Stranger Things” at the time, and he said he couldn’t possibly turn down the opportunity. Even before Bower was cast, a roughly five-month process (save a pause in production for the pandemic) kicked off for Gower and his team to develop the Vecna gear. The full-body suit was made up of about 26 overlapping prosthetic pieces that fit together like a jigsaw puzzle.
Gower and his team used foam latex, which is lightweight and opaque, to cover large body pieces for Vecna, mainly his left arm and lower body. Silicone-based materials came into play for his face, soldiers, chest, back and right arm, since the material is clear and can be dyed to match the pigment of the creature’s skin. It’s challenging to paint the two different materials and make them appear as one, cohesive body, Gower said, but the artists he worked with are “incredible craftspeople,” some of whom are classically trained painters.
Gower said with all of the logistics involved in creating Vecna, Bower was patient and collaborative — whether that was through 2 a.m. calls to get the prosthetics applied before he was called to set or through the adjustments Gower’s team had to make as those long shoot days progressed. Gower also praised not only Bower’s stamina, but also his commitment to the performance.
Bower described the “gothy folk, black metal” music he would play as he sat in the makeup chair, which would get faster and more hardcore as they progressed. Gower said at the start of the hours-long application, Bower would crack jokes and be himself. But as they neared the end, they would “start to lose Jamie.”
Jamie Campbell Bower in his Vecna costume on the set of “Stranger Things” with showrunners Matt Duffer, left, and Ross Duffer.
(Niko Tavernise / Netflix)
“Vecna’s voice would start coming out,” Gower said. “By the end of the process, it was Vecna talking to us. It wasn’t Jamie anymore.”
“I really can’t imagine Vecna being as successful, as iconic a villain and character without it being Jamie Campbell Bower,” Gower continued. “He’s incredible.”
Becoming Vecna can be both mentally and physically taxing because of the prosthetics and the dark place it requires the actor to go. But Bower said he found playing Henry, Vecna’s human form, even more challenging this season.
For him, Vecna is devoid of any humanity, but when he is playing Henry, there’s still “elements of humanity,” though his intentions are pure evil. In Vol. 1, we see Henry targeting the children of Hawkins, but instead of presenting himself as Vecna, as he did in Season 4, he’s approaching his victims with a friendly, well-dressed front — they call him Mr. Whatsit.
“There was something that was arguably more terrifying in having the composure enough to be able to let whomever else is there make wrong choices,” Bower said. It’s a fun puzzle for him to figure out how much emotion to show and when to let the mask slip to the audience, he added.
In comparison to the monsters Bower drew from to develop Vecna, he looked to one person as inspiration for Henry in Season 5: Mister Rogers.
He’s a wolf in sheep’s clothing. And Bower promises we’ll see more of the wolf come out as the season progresses, though he’s careful not to reveal too much.
Stranger Things season five has introduced new character Derek Turnbow and he is already proving to be a fan favourite
*WARNING: This article contains spoilers from Stranger Things season 5, Volume 1.*
Netflix viewers have finally returned to Hawkins after a gruelling three-year wait, and there’s a host of new characters joining the group.
Stranger Things season five has now released its first four episodes, which follow the original gang as they attempt to find the season four villain, Vecna (Jamie Campbell Bower).
While Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown) is training for the moment she comes face to face with the monster, the nerds and teens take on their own plans to support the mission.
Viewers then meet potty-mouth newcomer Derek Turnbow, who is seen bullying Holly Wheeler by forcing the playground carousel to speed up while she is lying on it.
It later emerges that Vecna is targeting Derek, so the group plans to kidnap him in order to save his life and track down Vecna’s hiding spot.
Their plan falls apart, but Derek is soon enlisted to go undercover as ‘Delightful Derek’ in an attempt to rescue the mission.
Many Stranger Things fans have been raving about the new character, taking to social media to praise the actor behind the emerging favourite.
Who plays Derek Turnbow in Stranger Things?
Jake Connelly is an American actor whose breakout role came in Stranger Things 5.
Before joining the Netflix show, Connelly’s only IMDb credit was in a short film called Between the Silence.
Connelly is only 13 years old and was around four when the show premiered. But he managed to catch up on the sci-fi hit a few years ago.
Speaking to The Wrap at the season five premiere, he revealed: “I started watching it a good couple of years ago, probably around when Season 4 came out.”
“As a family, we sat down every night and watched an episode before bed. It was just so fun seeing everything that my mom grew up with in the ’80s,” Connelly added.
Despite being a newcomer, Connelly was welcomed with open arms. In the same interview, he told The Wrap that the main star, Brown, was especially kind.
He recalled: “I gotta say, one of the first days of the table read, Millie Bobby Brown called me over to her [trailer] and — my mom had no idea where I went — I was just there with Millie Bobby Brown and Jake Bongiovi just chilling it up, just talking.
“And she said, ‘Oh yeah, we were all your age when we started. If you ever need anything, you can just call us.'”
Stranger Things 5 episodes 1-4 are streaming now on Netflix
Stranger Things season 5 introduced a brand-new cast member in the form of Mike Wheeler’s little sister
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WARNING: This article contains spoilers from Stranger Things season 5, Volume 1
Stranger Things season five, volume one has now arrived on Netflix after a final trailer and features some huge twists and turns with Hawkins now under military lockdown following the events of the series four finale.
The gang and Eleven (played by Millie Bobby Brown) continued to try and find Vecna (Jamie Campbell Bower) as he hid in the Upside Down, with things heating up in the final season of Stranger Things.
While Mike Wheeler (Finn Wolfhard) and his friends were busy searching for the villainous creature, he failed to notice his sister Holly Wheeler (Nell Fisher) was seemingly having visions and speaking to someone.
Instead of questioning whether she, too, had special abilities like Will Byers (Noah Schnapp), both Mike and his family put it all down to an imaginary friend rather than considering it could be Vecna.
Unsurprisingly, this resulted in Holly getting kidnapped by a demogorgon and taken to the Upside Down.
Many Stranger Things fans are now curious to know more about the actress behind the new Holly, after the younger version of the character was played by identical twins Anniston and Tinsley Price in previous seasons.
Who plays Holly Wheeler in Stranger Things season 5?
British child star Nell Fisher plays the new Holly in Stranger Things season five.
Hailing from London, the 13-year-old has previously starred in Bookworm, Evil Dead Rise, Northspur, TV show My Life Is Murder and Choose Love.
According to IMDb, she is rumoured to next be starring in the Yu-Gi-Oh! Live Action TV series, which is in pre-production.
Watch Stranger Things on Netflix for free with Sky
Sky is giving away a free Netflix subscription with its new Sky Stream TV bundles, including the £15 Essential TV plan.
This lets members watch live and on-demand TV content without a satellite dish or aerial and includes hit shows like Stranger Things.
How old is Holly Wheeler in Stranger Things season 5?
Actress Fisher is 13-years-old, but her character Holly was born in 1980, according to the Stranger Things fandom page, and so would be around seven-years-old in season five.
Holly would have been around three-years-old in season one, which is set in 1983.
At one point, Karen Wheeler (Cara Buono) remarks how Holly “isn’t five anymore” alluding to her daughter getting older.
Why was Holly Wheeler recast in Stranger Things?
The reason for the recasting was because the producers wanted an older and more experienced actress to take on the role of Holly, who has a big role to play in season five.
As revealed in season five, volume one, Holly’s part in the story is pretty important, with Matt Duffer telling SFX in a recent interview: “Once you see the full season, you’ll have a better understanding of why it was so important to add her to the cast.
“One of the reasons was, we just wanted to recapture some of the feeling of season one, and some of that you can’t recapture unless you have kids, because our kids are not kids anymore. They’re not close to being kids anymore.”
Adding: “So it was really fun to add Holly and her classmates into the show, because it allowed us to recapture some of that feeling.”
Stranger Things season 5, volume 2 is released on Netflix UK and Ireland on Boxing Day (December 26) at 1am
FOR almost a decade, Stranger Things has had adults and kids alike cowering behind the sofa as a bunch of youngsters battle the evil Demogorgon and Vecna.
I’ve been scared out of my wits a few times but as the fifth and final series begins today, I have some very good news for fans of the hit sci-fi show.
Several spin-off projects are already in the works, I can reveal.
We will see more of the story unfold as inhabitants of the fictional US town of Hawkins, Indiana, venture into the mysterious alternate dimension The Upside Down.
Speaking at the London premiere, Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos confirmed: “The world of Hawkins, Indiana and the Upside Down, it’s not over.”
There is already a stage show, Stranger Things: The First Shadow, which has had rave reviews on London’s West End.
And next year will see the launch of an animated series, Stranger Things: Tales From ’85, featuring a new cast and taking place in the period between the second and third series of the main show.
But talks are under way about a series of other opportunities, including chances to explore individual characters.
A source said: “Stranger Things has been one of the ultimate success stories for Netflix — loads of people got subscriptions just to watch that.
“They know there is a massive appetite for more, so although now is the right time to end the main series, it won’t be the end of the story.
“There have been talks of a live-action spin-off as well as another animated project.
“But there is also a hope that individual characters could return to the screen in stand-alone shows.”
One person unlikely to take up that offer is Millie Bobby Brown. She played key character Eleven, who has supernatural powers.
Millie made it clear she is excited to snap up opportunities away from the show after so many years working on it.
The last series in 2022 ended on a cliffhanger with Max Mayfield, played by Sadie Sink, left horrifically injured after being attacked by Vecna.
We find out what’s happened to her and after watching the first episode a few weeks ago, I can confirm it’s still just as terrifying.
The first four episodes of season five drop today, followed by more on Boxing Day and the grand finale on New Year’s Day.
But his character only has barely nine minutes of screen time in the episode which features a brilliant soundtrack including Diana Ross’s Upside Down, and ABBA’s Fernando during a particularly gruesome scene.
Watching bloody fights between monsters and mortals isn’t usually how I spend my Christmas, but this year, I’ll be glued to it.
Seasons change. Kids grow up. Monsters evolve. Beloved TV series end.
“Stranger Things’” fifth and final season kicks off Wednesday after a nearly three-and-a-half-year absence. It’s a welcome but bittersweet reunion for fans of the show who’ve spent the last decade watching a gaggle of misfit kids (now teens) weaponize their nerd skills against supernatural and mortal enemies in the fictional town of Hawkins, Ind.
Will (Noah Schnapp), Mike (Finn Wolfhard), Lucas (Caleb McLaughlin), Dustin (Gaten Matarazzo) and Max (Sadie Sink) and their superpowered friend Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown) are now poised for a final battle against their mind-bending nemesis, Vecna, when the season’s Volume 1 arrives with four new episodes; Volume 2 (three episodes) drops Christmas Day, and the finale arrives Dec 31.
I might complain about the staggering of episodes — all timed for a holiday, of course — but the strategy gives sentimental viewers (my hand is raised) a bit more time to emotionally uncouple with the show.
The end of Netflix’s oddball-to-blockbuster series marks the end of an era, and surely the last generational touchstone to come out of series television. Gen Z, which grew up in the dawn of YouTube and, later, the emergence of TikTok, has generally favored short-form content over lengthier productions; however, “Stranger Things” became the exception. Young fans stretched their attention spans, watching entire seasons of a show where episodes might range anywhere from an hour to two hours plus. The Upside Down, a dark, gooey parallel universe of Hawkins, and its predatory demogorgons became part of their middle school vernacular, in the same way that pre-streaming generations used “isms” from their favorite shows: (“Just MacGuyver it, dude”).
“Stranger Things” takes place in the Reagan era, so from its very beginnings parents of Gen Zers could watch the series with their kids while revisiting their own fond and/or torturous memories of growing up in 1980s. My son was in the sixth grade when the show premiered, meaning I was there to confirm that, yes, tragic hairdos, pleated jeans and unchecked bullying were a thing in the ‘80s. But unlike Eleven, we did not have the power to make said bullies pee their pants in public. If only …
The Day-Glo decade still plays a pivotal role when “Stranger Things” returns this week. Look forward to a Tiffany “I Think We’re Alone Now” moment, nods to great bands like the Fall, and a well-timed mention of a flux capacitor. But Hawkins is no MTV dance party. The sleepy town is under a militarized quarantine. It’s for their own protection, and because the government is up to no good, again. Nothing comes in or out of the place without the knowledge of authorities, unless it’s smuggled in by the perpetually scheming Murray (Brett Gelman).
Hopper (David Harbour) and Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown) make their way to the Upside Down. (Netflix)
Max (Sadie Sink) remains comatose as Lucas (Caleb McLaughlin) attempts to reach her. (Netflix)
Last we knew, antagonist Vecna (who takes on many forms) had finally opened the gates to the dandruffy Upside Down, merging it with the real world. It was a violent event, but most of the town folk believed all that shaking and noise was because of an earthquake. Poor souls.
Hawkins’ beloved band of nerds know better. They’ve been doing covert “crawls” with the goal of locating and destroying Vecna before he turns the town, then the world, into an oozy wasteland. Joining the fight are Mike’s older sis Nancy (Natalia Dyer), Will’s big brother Jonathan (Charlie Heaton), friends Steve (Joe Keery) and Robin (Maya Hawke), Will and Jonathan’s mom Joyce Byers (Winona Ryder) and Elle’s adopted father, Jim Hopper (David Harbour). Max is comatose in the hospital. Her consciousness is trapped in Vecna’s mindscape, no matter how much Lucas plays Kate Bush’s “Running Up That Hill” to wake her.
Following multiple attacks on their modest home by demodogs and U.S. agents, the Byers have been living in the basement of Mike’s home with his family, the Wheelers. The unfulfilled Mrs. Wheeler (Cara Buono) has been hitting the sauce and the usually flaccid Mr. Wheeler (Joe Chrest) is finally bothered by something — they’re eating his morning bacon! The youngest Wheeler, Holly (Nell Fisher), is now approaching the age that the core cast of kids were when the series premiered in 2016. And Erica (Priah Ferguson), Lucas’s don’t-mess-with-me little sister who still delivers all the show’s best zingers, is now in Mr. Clarke’s middle school science class.
Elevating the storylines of younger characters helps bridge the age gap created when the core cast of kid actors had the audacity to grow up over the show’s run. Brown was 12 when the show premiered. She’s now 21. Critics have complained that they should not be playing high schoolers. But accepting 22-year-old Wolfhard as a teenage Mike is not a stretch — especially given everything else “Stranger Things” fans have been willing to believe in (“talking” Christmas lights, psychokinetic battles, a nefarious Soviet lab under the mall food court).
There are spoiler embargoes aplenty so there’s a limit to what can be said about the first four new episodes out for review. Suffice to say there’s a mega battle on the horizon. Eleven has been training hard, honing her powers. Now she can fling armored vehicles, leap atop large buildings and bend the toughest of minds with a minimal nosebleed. Dustin is fighting angry, hardened by the death of his Hellfire Club buddy, Eddie Munson (Joseph Quinn). Steve and Jonathan are still competing for Nancy’s attention while her focus is on perfecting her sharpshooting skills. Hopper has a distractingly long beard. And Mrs. Wheeler proves to be a formidable warrior when armed with a jagged, broken wine bottle.
Their original kids’ circumstances haven’t changed all that much, but their outlooks have, making for unpredictable twists in their powers, strengths and alliances.
In the final season of their little show that did, creators the Duffer Brothers (twin siblings Matt and Ross), lean heavily on the interpersonal feuds and friendships between all the aforementioned characters, pairing high-budget action with advancing storylines about folks that fans have come to love. It is, after all, the kids at the center of the story that kept us coming back for more. And it appears they’ll continue to do so, right up to the end.
A major star from Netflix’s hit series Stranger Things has addressed the wild theories about her next role in a highly-anticipated blockbuster
Stranger Things star Sadie Sink has issued a cryptic response to who she could be playing in an upcoming Marvel movie.
The actress is best known for portraying Maxine ‘Max’ Mayfield in Netflix’s smash-hit series, which is returning for its fifth and final season this week.
She has since been cast in the upcoming superhero sequel Spider-Man: Brand New Day, with Tom Holland returning as the web-slinger, though details of her role are currently a mystery.
With fan theories ranging from iconic comic book favourites such as Gwen Stacey and Jean Grey to more obscure characters, fans may be in the dark for some time as both Marvel Studios and Sony are keeping things under wraps.
Sink has recently addressed some of the most popular rumours, many of which point to the redheaded actress portraying someone with a similar look.
“A lot of people forget that hair colour can change, but, yeah, I understand all of the theories,” she teased to Entertainment Weekly.
Her four-word clarification that “hair colour can change” could point to her casting as Spider-Man’s blonde girlfriend Gwen after his love interest MJ, played by Holland’s real-life partner Zendaya, was left with her memory wiped in the last film.
However, Sink’s casting as X-Men team member Jean has also been a popular choice since before she joined the franchise, as she notes: “That was happening before I even knew that I would be working on this project.
“I was like, ‘Wait! What are people talking about?’”
The odds are also strong that the Stranger Things alum is playing a lesser-known character called Rachel Cole, the sidekick of vigilante the Punisher who will also be making an appearance in Brand New Day portrayed by Jon Bernthal.
“People will just have to wait and see,” Sink teased. “I’m excited for all of it to maybe be put to rest.”
The actress currently has multiple mysteries surrounding her upcoming on-screen appearances, as the fate of her Stranger Things character Max was also left up in the air at the end of season four.
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Following an intense confrontation with Vecna (Jamie Campbell Bower), Max was left in a coma while her friends anxiously await her revival, which may never actually arrive.
“For the most part, I think people trust me to keep my mouth shut,” she said.
“Press is pretty boring if you can’t talk about the episodes — for me, at least. She’s in a coma. That’s all I can say.”
Stranger Things season 5 premieres Wednesday, 26th November.
Matt and Ross Duffer, the twin directors known as The Duffer Brothers, have focused on raising the stakes in “Stranger Things” as the series moves to its fifth and final season, which premieres on November 26 on Netflix. They modeled the series after “Game of Thrones” to enhance its scale and impact. The Duffer Brothers aim to feature bigger visual effects while prioritizing story and character connections that engage audiences. Ross highlighted that viewers have formed strong attachments to the characters over the past 10 years and will want to witness the series’ conclusion.
Season 5 stars Millie Bobby Brown as Eleven, along with Winona Ryder, David Harbour, and others reprising their roles. The series finale will be shown in theaters on December 31 across over 350 locations in the U. S. and Canada, providing fans with a unique way to say goodbye. For Millie Bobby Brown, the final season was both emotional and nostalgic, marking a significant moment after playing the lead since she was 12. Despite this ending, she remains open to future science fiction roles. The Duffer Brothers also launched Upside Down Pictures in 2022, planning a live-action spin-off series alongside other franchise projects. The final season faced delays due to Hollywood strikes in 2023.
Since “Stranger Things” last released new episodes in 2022, a lot has happened. The writers’ and actors’ guilds went on a historic strike, delaying production on the final season. The Duffer Brothers, as the show’s creators Matt and Ross are known, developed a stage play set in the “Stranger Things” world that premiered on London’s West End and transferred to Broadway earlier this year. The star, Millie Bobby Brown, who was 12 when the show premiered, became a wife and mother.
The time between the fourth and fifth seasons is long enough that many fans — save the ones who have been faithfully rewatching and carefully taking notes in preparation — may not remember what happened last. And key context and developments from earlier seasons may be even fuzzier in our memories, like Eleven trying to recall what happened in the rainbow room.
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Let’s refresh our memories together.
“Stranger Things,” set in fictional Hawkins, Ind., (primarily) in the 1980s, follows a ragtag bunch of kids and a handful of trusted adults as they battle evil and supernatural forces in their small town. High school students Will (Noah Schnapp), Mike (Finn Wolfhard), Lucas (Caleb McLaughlin), Dustin (Gaten Matarazzo) and Max (Sadie Sink), along with older teens Nancy (Natalia Dyer), Jonathan (Charlie Heaton), Steve (Joe Keery) and Robin (Maya Hawke), work alongside Eleven (Brown), a girl with special psychokinetic abilities, to protect the town from a parallel dimension called the Upside Down with monsters, electrical storms and a Lovecraftian, other-worldly force. Joining them in the fight is Joyce Byers (Winona Ryder), Will and Jonathan’s mom, police chief Jim Hopper (David Harbour) and a handful of other instrumental characters.
Here’s a recap of the important storylines to remember, a refresher on where the series left off and everything else you need to know to prepare for the fifth and final season that will be released in three installments, beginning with Vol. 1 on Nov. 26, Vol. 2 on Christmas Day and the finale on New Year’s Eve.
Where we left off
The crew gathers as they see dark clouds move over Hawkins at the end of Season 4, indicating that the Upside Down is infiltrating the real world.
(Netflix)
Season 4 of “Stranger Things” concludes in a dark place, literally.
Vecna, the main antagonist from Season 4, had been seeking out four victims whose deaths would open four gates to the Upside Down. Although his final victim, Max, was only dead for a minute (more on that later), he succeeded. The gates converge at the center of Hawkins, culminating in a large boom at the Hawkins Public Library. Although it’s dismissed by officials as an earthquake, our gang knows better — the Upside Down is merging with the real world.
The final moments of the season show dark clouds billowing through the sky as the familiar, dandruff-like particles from the Upside Down float through the air. Earlier in the season, Vecna possessed Nancy, showing her a terrifying vision of mass death and destruction in Hawkins and the four gates to the Upside Down ripping through the town. These are just a few steps in his mission to destroy humanity.
At the end of the season, we also see the long-anticipated return of Hopper, who was trapped in a Russian prison until Joyce and Murray Bauman (Brett Gelman), their mutual friend and a private investigator, help break him out and bring him back home. Eleven and Hopper, who have a father-daughter-like bond, reunite in one of the bright spots of an otherwise dark season.
And although he achieved his goal, Vecna is weak. Nancy, Robin and Steve set his body on fire while he was attacking Max, who was in a trance. Fearless Nancy then shoots him repeatedly until he falls out of the second story of his lair. Although it seems at first that they have killed him, his body is gone by the time the crew rushes to the ground floor, and Will senses that he is still alive.
Characters who died in Season 4
Vecna’s attack briefly killed Max, but Eleven was able to revive her. She’s in a coma at the end of Season 4.
(Netflix)
Max Mayfield (sort of)
Vecna preyed on Max for much of Season 4, and in the final episode, playing Kate Bush’s “Running Up That Hill” on repeat from her Walkman is not enough to save her. Vecna kills Max, but Eleven is able to revive her by using her powers to restart her heart. The last shot we see of Max is of her hospitalized in a coma, with broken bones and her concerned friends by her side.
She’s alive, but her temporary death was enough for Vecna to accomplish his goal. Theories about whether Max’s consciousness is trapped in Vecna’s visions, or if she will recover with powers that enable her to spy on Vecna, have been circulating on social media since the release of Season 4, but fans of the character shouldn’t fret. Sink is listed in the credits for Season 5 and she is seen briefly in the Season 5 trailer, with Lucas carrying her body as a Demogorgon, one of the monsters in the show, runs toward them.
Although he died in the Season 3 finale, Billy Hargrove, Max’s stepbrother, is noteworthy since his death took a big emotional toll on Max, filling her with guilt and grief, which primed her to be one of Vecna’s targets.
Eddie Munson
This fan-favorite character played by Joseph Quinn died in the final episode of Season 4, but he went out with a blaze. Eddie and Dustin were in the Upside Down carrying out their part in the plan to attack Vecna, and Eddie shredded out Metallica’s “Master of Puppets” on his guitar in order to distract the Demobats protecting Vecna’s lair. Dustin says the musical ruse is the “most metal ever,” but it’s not enough to keep them safe from the terrifying creatures.
After Dustin makes it through the gate back into the real world, Eddie stays behind to drive the bats away and buy the group more time. He is eventually attacked by the creatures, and dies in Dustin’s arms after protecting his friends.
Eddie initially befriended Mike, Lucas and Dustin because of their shared love of Dungeons & Dragons, forming the Hellfire Club to play the game together. Eddie’s death is likely to reverberate with Dustin in the upcoming season, who is seen in the trailer wearing his Hellfire Club T-shirt.
Dr. Martin Brenner
Dr. Brenner, or Eleven’s “papa” as his test subjects called him, was killed by military gunfire when officers invaded his research facility in search of Eleven. They believed she was behind the strange happenings and murders taking place in Hawkins.
Brenner (Matthew Modine) played a significant role in the controversial MKUltra program, a real-life covert CIA mind-control and chemical interrogation research program. He took a young Henry Creel (who ultimately became 001/Vecna) into his custody after discovering he possessed psychokinetic abilities and tried to replicate those abilities in other children, including Eleven.
In his final moments, Brenner tells Eleven he is proud of her and that all he ever wanted was to help her and protect her, despite the psychological and physical abuse he inflicted on her.
Other important things to remember
Although Hopper and Joyce were able to rescue Will from the Upside Down, he is still closely tied to the dimension and its monsters.
(Netflix )
Will’s connection to the Upside Down
Since he was trapped in the Upside Down during Season 1, Will hasn’t been able to sever his tie to the dimension. In Season 2, he is possessed by the Mind Flayer and feels pain when the vines in the Upside Down are damaged or Demogorgons are hurt. He is tapped into the dimension’s “hive mind” and can sense Vecna’s presence, usually through a strange feeling on the back of his neck.
Eleven’s ‘sister’
Although all of the test subjects who were raised alongside Eleven were killed by Henry/001 in the massacre at Hawkins Labs (Season 4, Episode 7), one of her “siblings” managed to escape the lab before that fateful day. Kali, or 008, made a brief appearance in a Season 2 storyline — Eleven temporarily joined her gang of misfits to help in Kali’s mission of getting revenge on people who worked in the lab.
Kali did not appear in Seasons 3 or 4, but aside from Eleven and Henry/Vecna, she is the only other person known to have powerful psychokinetic abilities.
‘The First Shadow’
The stage play “Stranger Things: The First Shadow” is a prequel diving into Henry’s origins and how he eventually became 001, and Vecna. Although it is considered a standalone work, the Duffer Brothers collaborated with “Stranger Things” writer Kate Trefry to create the play’s story and they have confirmed it is canon in the “Stranger Things” universe.
Some fans who have compared the details from the play and the series say that the play suggests Vecna might not be in control of the Mind Flayer, as he has suggested. Rather, the Mind Flayer is in control of him, or that it had at least corrupted his human self.
Fans who have traced back through the series to see if this theory holds water point out that Dustin, whose theories about the Upside Down tend to be correct, suggested the same thing in Season 4. Speaking about the Mind Flayer, he says, “If the Demogorgon was just his foot soldier, Vecna’s his five-star general.”
What we know is coming next
In the first look at Season 5, Will and Vecna come face to face.
(Netflix)
Netflix released the first five minutes of the new season in early November, in which we see a flashback to Will’s time trapped in the Upside Down. A Demogorgon drags an unconscious Will to Vecna’s lair, and Vecna ominously says they can begin their work “at long last.” “You and I, we are going to do such beautiful things together, William,” he continues.
It looks like we can expect a showdown between our heroes and Vecna, but it’s possible we might also get further explanation about why Will was specifically targeted from the beginning.
Is this the end of ‘Stranger Things’?
In a word, yes. But new stories taking place in the world of “Stranger Things” will be coming. Netflix recently unveiled the first look at an animated spinoff series, “Stranger Things: Tales From ’85.” The series is set between the events of Seasons 2 and 3, and it will feature the main characters fans know and love. The Duffer Brothers collaborated with showrunner Eric Robles to create the series, which does not have a premiere date yet.
The Duffer Brothers are also developing a spinoff series with new characters and a “clean slate,” which they teased in a recent interview with Variety.
ONE Brit has lived out a real life version of The Holiday after swapping homes with a complete stranger she met on TikTok.
After spotting a video by New York native Lohanny Santos – who was looking for someone abroad to exchange homes for a trip – Marie Draxler from London jumped at the idea.
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Marie swapped flats with a stranger in New York for a holidayCredit: Jam Press/Marie Draxler
After reaching out, Marie instantly hit it off with Lohanny, with the duo having a number of friendly chats and a Zoom call.
Eventually, the two decided to go for it and booked flights at the same time.
Since her trip, Marie has posted about her real-life The Holiday experience and of course, the clip quickly racked up millions of views.
When Marie visited New York, she visited the city’s main sites, including the parks.
Marie said the swap felt straight out of The Holiday, just without the unexpected romance.
She said: “I just wandered all over Manhattan truly enjoying the best the city had to offer.
“We both created a list of recommendations – from cafés to cute boutiques – and we both checked out those recommendations and truly lived like the other.
“New York always has and always will hold a special place in my heart.
“This city has always inspired and motivated me on a whole new level.
“I’m so grateful I got to experience this trip and truly lived like a local.”
Many viewers also flocked to the comments sharing their thoughts.
One person said: “It’s literally The Holiday in real life.”
Another added: “The Holiday is my favourite movie, can’t believe I’m seeing it in real life!”
Someone even joked: “Make sure she doesn’t have a brother!”, referencing Jude Law’s famous character from the film.
Marie saw a video on TikTok, where Lohanny from New York wanted to swap flats with someone for a trip awayCredit: Jam Press/Marie Draxler
And a number of viewers have even been inspired to try swapping homes for themselves.
One person said: “If anyone wants to switch and stay in San Diego, let me know!”
Marie added in one of her videos: “I’m so happy. I am just in this little bliss bubble and I’m just so grateful for this whole swap and us doing this and me being here and just living this crazy adventure.”
Lohanny, who is from Brooklyn, got to experience London from Marie’s cosy flat in Notting Hill whilst Marie was in New York.
During the time each of the women were in the others’ flat, they stayed in touch as well, sharing recommendations and discovering each other’s adventures.
Millie was left fuming by a snapper’s commentCredit: GettyShe clapped back before walking off the carpetCredit: PAThe photographer had told her to smileCredit: Getty
Posing for snappers at the Odeon Luxe in London’s Leicester Square, one shutterbug was seemingly left unimpressed.
Flashes fired in her direction, with the pack of media apparently wanting more as one shouted at her to smile.
Video footage shows the moment Millie pulls a face at the photographer in question before saying, “Smile? You smile”
After making her comment, she walks away from the carpet and stops posing altogether.
The clip has gone viral on both TikTok and on X, formally known as Twitter.
It has divided followers, with some saying she had every right to leave, but others hitting back at the actress.
In Millie’s defence, one penned on X, “Celebrities are not legally obliged to smile when photographers request it.”
A second said, “Millie Bobby Brown serving major clapback energy.”
While a third responded, “Not exactly promoting them acting like d***s, but they seriously have the right to call out paparazzi Since Chappell Roan.
“We need these celebrities to show those unhuman paparazzi their place.”
Another added, “I feel for Millie Bobby Brown in this case.
“People used to say that I didn’t smile enough… My high school track coach used to say, ‘smile’, I even got disciplined at a JOB for NOT SMILING ENOUGH.”
A fifth said, “I feel bad for her. Probably the last kind of person that should be famous. I hope she get peace in her life.”
Others weren’t so sure, with another user writing on X, “Okay so I’m confused by this.
“How is a professional photographer asking you to smile offensive?”
A second said, “You’re on the Red Carpet to provide pictures for media outlets.
“Don’t be surprised when one of the photographers asks you to smile.”
While a third wrote, “Gurlll you’re on a red carpet.. posing for pictures… in front of a photographer. There is zero sexism involved here.”
They added, “She has a talent, that Holmes piece she did was very well done, but her attitude I think will not enable her to continue towards further success.”
Her outburst seemed to divide fans onlineCredit: SplashSome said she had every right to walk awayCredit: GettyWhile others branded the ordeal a diva momentCredit: Getty
MILLIE Bobby Brown looked incredible at the Stranger Things premiere in London in a showstopping black corset dress.
The actress, 21, who plays character Eleven on the hit series, attended the event alongside her fellow cast members including Sadie Sink and Natalie Dyer.
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Millie looked sensational at the premiere of Stranger ThingsCredit: Shutterstock EditorialThe actress sizzled in the corset dressCredit: GettyShe looked amazing in her sheer corset dressCredit: GettyThe cast reunited in London for the screeningCredit: GettyDavid Harbour appeared to have skipped the eventCredit: GettyUS actor Noah Schnapp and Millie Bobby were seen grinning at each otherCredit: AFPThe cast smile for the cameras in LondonCredit: Getty
With its fifth and final season set to air on Netflix in just two weeks time, the cast reunited once again to celebrate ahead of the release.
Millie looked sensational in a dramatic lingerie-esque ensemble, consisting of a sheer corset and a black mini skirt with a flowing train of tuelle.
She paired the perfectly over-the-top piece with simple stockings and a pair of dark shiny stilletos.
As Millie strutted across the carpet in front of the Stranger Things promo poster, she eyed up the camera and adjusted her free-flowing brunette hair.
Her diamond droplet earrings tied the whole look together, as her only other accessory.
Meanwhile Sadie donned a gorgeous cream satin number, falling all the way to the floor.
Her waved auburn locks cascaded over her chest to where silver bead detailing framed the bust of the dress, as well as a sexy midriff cut-out.
Natalie also didn’t fail to look absolutely fabulous, oozing Hollywood glamour despite being all the way across the world in Britain.
She rocked a breathtaking pale lilac gown with a feathered trim, as her golden blonde hair flowed like honey down each shoulder.
But David Harbour was nowhere to be seen.
David has been a core member of the Stranger Things cast since it first aired in 2016.
Starring in the role of Jim Hopper, often referred to as Sheriff Hopper, he’s one of the series’ most beloved personalities, loved for his complex character arc.
It comes after Lily has been spotted out and about in London.
Just yesterday, the Smile hitmaker looked incredible in a see-through dress at the Hunger Games premiere.
STRANGE REUNION
Just last week Millie and David put on an overly affectionate display at the Stranger Things season five premiere in Los Angeles after it emerged he had been accused of bullying her.
Millie was bizarrely seen hugging her co-star, putting her hands on his shoulders and seemingly sharing a private joke.
The pair, who play father and daughter on the hit Netflix show, seemed to be at pain to show there was no animosity between them at the star-studded event at Los Angeles’ TCL Chinese Theatre.
According to the Daily Mail, Millie is said to have reported David to Stranger Things show bosses, complaining about his behaviour while filming the fifth and final season.
The 21-year-old’s complaint included allegations of “harassment and bullying”.
While Netflix chose not to respond to the Daily Mail’s claims, at the premiere, the show’s co-creator Ross Duffer addressed these reports.
He told The Hollywood Reporter: “Obviously, you understand I can’t get into personal on-set matters, but I will say we’ve been doing this for 10 years with this cast, and at this point they’re family and we deeply care about them.
” So, you know, nothing matters more than just having a set where everyone feels safe and happy.”
The unnamed source alleged that David’s ex Lily Allen “supported” him “throughout it all” and “it was a brutal time.”
“You either accept your path completely and realise that even the pain and the slip-ups and the mistakes are all part of the journey, and that there’s truth and growth, wisdom and deeper empathy and connection in all that.
“It’s kind of like a house of cards, the minute you try to change one thing you kind of have to change it all.”
Millie and David put on an affectionate display at the Stranger Things premiere afterparty last weekCredit: GettySadie graced the red carpet in a gorgeous cream dressCredit: APNatalie oozed ethereal glamourCredit: GettyBrit singer Lily Allen split from David soon after allegedly finding his ‘secret profile’ on a dating appCredit: Getty
Stranger Things star Caleb McLaughlin appeared on BBC The One Show and opened up about the final season of the show
Stranger Things stars Noah Schnapp and Caleb McLaughlin(Image: BBC)
Stranger Things fans are bracing themselves to bid farewell to the beloved programme that has captivated audiences since 2016, as the final instalment of the science fiction drama draws to a close.
Caleb McLaughlin, who portrays Lucas Sinclair in the Netflix series created by Matt and Ross Duffer, has reflected on wrapping up filming, describing it as the “best day”.
The star joined fellow cast members Finn Wolfhard, Noah Schnapp and Gaten Matarazzo on BBC’s The One Show on Monday (November 10) evening, where he discussed the upcoming final season with presenters Alex Jones and Angelica Bell, reports the Manchester Evening News.
Alex immediately remarked: “You’ve been together for ages, you’ve grown up together and the chemistry between you is so brilliant.”
The presenter then enquired: “What was it like to film that last moment before they shouted ‘that’s a wrap?'”
Caleb confessed: “It was really emotional honestly. I reference a 90s anime flashback, I felt like I was reminiscing on my future, my present and the past.”
He continued: “I’ve been on the show almost half my life, I mean all of us have. It’s been 10 years, it’s wild. It’s something so deep that I can’t truly understand yet because my frontal lode is still closing but it was an emotional day but one of my best days.”
When questioned about whether he’d managed to take any mementoes from the set, the actor disclosed: “With permission, my bandanna, a wright locket and some clothes from each season.”
After the explosive finale of series four, Netflix unveiled the trailer for series five last month, showing our beloved Hawkins youngsters gearing up for a final showdown with Vecna.
The clip reveals where Vecna (Jamie Campbell Bower) has been lurking, as it begins with the arch-villain stepping out from the shadows in the Upside Down’s version of Hawkins’ town hall, declaring: “We can begin.”
It then switches to the residents of Hawkins, who find themselves “stuck” in their town due to military intervention as authorities attempt to contain the chaos Vecna unleashed at the close of series four.
The tension escalates as Finn Wolfhard’s Mike Wheeler and his mates devise one final assault against Vecna to “end this once and for all”.
The trailer also features Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown) using her abilities to soar through the sky, whilst Max (Sadie Sink) is shown being carried from the hospital by Lucas (Caleb McLaughlin), who then finds himself chased by a demodog.
In the trailer’s closing moments, an epic confrontation is hinted at, as Vecna lifts Will into the air towards him, saying: “You are going to help me…one…last…time.”
The One Show airs weekdays from 7pm on BBC One and iPlayer
It was a cold November morning, and I had travelled with my family to our ancestral temple in a village in Tamil Nadu. My sister’s 11-month-old baby was to be tonsured for the first time – a religious head-shaving that in Hinduism is a way of discarding the evil eye and removing any negativity from past lives; a new start.
My wife drove, but asked me to park the car while she went inside with our son and her parents. I walked around the front of the vehicle and slid into the passenger seat. But when I tried to park, I felt resistance. As I pressed down on the accelerator, I noticed a middle-aged man running towards me, waving his arms frantically as he yelled for me to move the car backwards.
My mind raced as I reversed. I prayed silently that I hadn’t hurt anyone.
It was only when I got out of the car that I saw her. The thin, frail woman who now lay on the ground, shaking and murmuring. Panicked, my mind tried to make sense of how she’d come to be there – she must have sat down, assuming I’d already parked – and how badly injured she was. She curled into a foetal position as I sat down beside her and gently placed her head on my lap.
“Does it hurt anywhere, paati (granny)?” I asked.
She nodded, pointing to her leg.
I slowly pulled back the torn sari near her knee. The flesh was missing.
“You’ve been hurt, but we’ll take care of it,” I promised.
“No one will take care of me … just let me sit,” she pleaded.
Villagers started to gather, but kept their distance. One man said the woman slept on the streets near the temple and was often seen begging. A woman chided her for always sitting too close to cars. “If you don’t do something now, no one will take care of her, and she’ll die,” a man muttered before leaving.
Between groans, the woman told me her name: Chinnammal.
“Can you find my bag, thangam?” she asked, using a Tamil term for a loved one that translates to “gold”. She was in pain, but speaking to me, the person who had caused it, with such kindness.
I looked around and found her old cotton bag. It was stuffed to the brim with an open packet of chips, a half-eaten bun, a few 10-rupee notes, and some clothes.
The ambulance arrived, but there was only the driver, and it would take at least three people to lift her safely; we needed another pair of hands. There were close to 25 people around us, but no one moved.
“No one will come to lift her. She’s from a different caste. I have come to do temple rituals – otherwise, I would help,” a priest explained before hurrying away.
My wife, who had by now seen the commotion and approached, stepped forward to help, and together, we lifted Chinnammal into the ambulance. I climbed in with her.
[Jawahir Al-Naimi/Al Jazeera]
I could see from her face that the pain came in waves. I sat next to her, one arm under her shoulders, in a kind of half-hug.
“My bag?” she asked, looking relieved when I placed it beside her hand.
“You are the first person to take me in a car,” she told me, her voice trembling.
She called me saami, a Tamil term that translates to God. I couldn’t understand how she could show me such love and respect. I asked for her forgiveness, but she simply asked me to help her sit up.
When we pulled into the hospital, two nurses in neatly pressed white uniforms appeared with a stretcher. I helped the ambulance driver lift Chinnammal onto it and wheeled her into the hospital. I told the nurses what I knew of her injuries, while they exchanged uneasy glances. When Chinnammal lurched forward and vomited, the nurses scolded her and backed away in disgust.
Inside the emergency room, the nursing manager explained that Chinnammal’s blood pressure and heart rate were high, but she was stable. She had two major injuries – a broken hip and severe grazing that would require skin grafts. Her leg, he said, was not so serious and would heal quickly.
Chinnammal reached for my hands. Hers were small and bony, but her grip was firm. Her eyes flickered, drifting in and out of focus. A soft-spoken doctor told me it was a miracle she was stable after sustaining such serious injuries.
She quietly listened to the doctor speak, but when he mentioned it would take three months for her hip to heal, Chinnammal started to wail.
“I will visit you every weekend, paati,” I reassured her.
The hospital staff took Chinnammal for an electrocardiogram, and when she returned, now hooked up to a heartbeat monitor, she grasped my hands again. She tugged on one. I leaned in. “Ask them to give me medicine to die,” she said.
I assured her that the doctors would take good care of her and that I would be there to make sure of it.
“They won’t,” she replied.
Then she looked into my eyes and lost consciousness.
I grabbed hold of her hand, but it was limp. I fell to the floor, sobbing.
Chinnammal was pronounced dead at 8.30 am on November 20, 2022. She was about 75 years old.
[Jawahir Al-Naimi/Al Jazeera]
Chinnammal’s story
Chinnammal didn’t always live on the streets. As a younger woman, she was impeccably dressed, with flowers woven into her neatly plaited hair.
She hadn’t always begged for handouts either. She worked hard to farm a piece of land for her family, but her married life was difficult. Her husband was an alcoholic, and Chinnammal had to raise her daughter, run the house, and farm their land with little help.
She doted on her daughter and was happy when she married a man from a nearby village. A few years after her daughter married, Chinnammal’s husband died. Chinnammal adapted easily to life as a widow. She enjoyed visiting her daughter and son-in-law and would take them homemade sweets. When they struggled to conceive, Chinnammal worried, but she was overjoyed when they decided to adopt. She loved watching her grandson grow. He became her “everything”.
That joy was short-lived. Chinnammal’s daughter fell ill with a severe form of diabetes. When Chinnammal wasn’t at her daughter’s bedside, she was at the temple, praying for her, or concocting various treatments from herbs that she hoped would help.
But nothing worked, and Chinnammal watched her daughter slowly die.
That was the moment Chinnammal’s life changed. She stopped interacting with people. Some villagers started to harass and steal from her. She once filed a police complaint against a drunk neighbour who harassed her, but the police refused to help. Late one night, when she caught the man near her home, she threatened him with a sickle.
In her grief, Chinnammal no longer cared where she slept, what she ate, or how she dressed. She started to sleep by the temple, clutching her cloth bag close to her.
[Jawahir Al-Naimi/Al Jazeera]
After Chinnammal’s death
A few hours after Chinnammal’s death, I went to the local police station and handed myself in.
A police officer contacted Chinnammal’s son-in-law to release her body and begin the family’s settlement case against me.
Her son-in-law initially refused to claim her body. The investigating officer told me he’d said, “She should have died a long time ago. She was just a burden … You can ask them to bury her and move on.”
But the officer insisted, and the man reluctantly came to the station.
When he arrived, I gave Chinnammal’s bag to the police officer, who inventoried its contents and shared the details with her son-in-law. His demeanour changed. He wanted to claim the body and register himself as her closest living relative, he explained.
“There was close to two lakhs ($2,250) in the bag you surrendered, and now this guy is trying to claim it and the compensation that the government might pay,” the police officer told me.
Chinnammal’s death felt like losing a loved one. I knew I had caused it. But she had shown no anger or animosity towards me. In her final hours, she had treated me with kindness and compassion. She had shared her love for her daughter and grandson with me, held my hand, and spoken tenderly to me despite her pain.
At the hospital, a doctor had tried to console me. “What if you had hit a child?” he’d asked. “Could you live with yourself?”
“She had lived her life,” he reasoned. But his reasoning made no sense to me.
The following day, I went to the temple to help the police with their investigation. As I stared at the spot where my life had changed, a priest interrupted my thoughts.
“You did a good job,” he said. Thinking he was chastising me, I apologised.
“No, I mean it,” he responded. “Nobody used to go near her. Local drunks used to steal the money she collected. So she used to cuss and throw stones at anyone who came near her. She had absolutely no one in this world.”
Even the temple staff used to chase her away, he explained.
“I think she chose to go through you. Through you, she died with dignity, the dignity that was denied to her in life,” he said, urging me to be at peace.
But nothing could give me peace.
I stopped driving. For a year, I withdrew from friends and family. I couldn’t sleep and, when I did, I’d see Chinnammal in my dreams. Whenever I was alone, I would think about her, replaying that day in my mind and wondering what might have happened had I done something differently.
Nearly a month after her death, I was able to track down the contact information for Chinnammal’s 19-year-old grandson. I called to ask for his forgiveness, and he asked me about the last moments I spent with her.
Three months later, at the court hearing, I was found negligent and ordered to pay a fine of 10,000 rupees ($115) to the court. At the hearing, I met Chinnammal’s grandson. I hugged him, and though he barely spoke, I could feel the warmth of his forgiveness – just like that of his paati’s.
In her dying moments, Chinnammal taught me the value of life – every life.
Chinnammal means “small mother”.
A neighbour who had known her said, “She spent her whole life caring for her daughter, and, even in death, she ensured that her family was taken care of [with her savings]. Her mind and body may have given in, but she never stopped being a mother.”
[Jawahir Al-Naimi/Al Jazeera]
This story was told to Catherine Gilon by Maverick Prem. Information about Chinnammal’s life was gathered from interviews with her former neighbours, who asked not to be named. Her family declined to be interviewed for this story.
Maverick continues to pay his respects to Chinnammal at the temple grounds where she spent her final years. In addition to the court fine, he made a voluntary donation to Chinnammal’s grandson.
