Why Stranger Things 5 will be shorter

The creators of Stranger Things, The Duffer Brothers, have explained how the fifth season of the show will be shorter than season four, which received criticism over its runtime.

The fourth season had nine episodes released on Netflix, but all were longer than one hour, with the finale coming in at a whopping two hours and 20 minutes.

What are the top 10 most popular shows on Amazon Prime right now?

Tuesday 10 February 2026, 14:38

What are the top 10 most popular shows on Netflix right now?

Monday 9 February 2026, 15:27

The runtime was one of the few criticisms aimed at Stranger Things 4, which proved popular among fans after the mixed reception of Stranger Things 3.

The Duffer Brothers have confirmed that the fifth season will be shorter, as the stage is already set for the show's climax, so there is no need for set-up or exposition.

“The only reason we don’t expect to be as long is, this season, if you look at it, it’s almost a two-hour ramp up before our kids really get drawn into a supernatural mystery,” Matt and Ross Duffer said on the Happy Sad Confused podcast.

“You get to know them, you get to see them in their lives, they’re struggling with adapting to high school and so forth, Steve’s trying to find a date, all of that. None of that is obviously going to be occurring .

“Characters are already going to be in action, they’re already going to have a goal and a drive, and I think that’s going to carve out at least a couple hours and make this season feel really different."

The pair did concede that the very last episode will be around two-and-a-half hours long again as they have so many character arcs to wrap up.

“I’m sure the wrap-up will be a lot longer, it’s going to be Return of the King-ish with, like, eight endings," they continued.

How will Stranger Things end?

Obviously, details surrounding the finale are scarce, but one man who knows some details is Jim Hopper himself, David Harbour.

The actor has revealed that he got some secrets out of the Duffer Brothers, as he believed it was necessary for him to know his character's end in order to aid his performance.

“I think that I needed to know as we were shooting early on, because I needed to know where he ends up and for what reason he ends up there. I think there is going to be somewhat of a morality — or at least responsible storytelling — to what the Duffers are doing,” the 47-year-old explained.

“There’s a reason in Season 2 why Bob dies. He’s too innocent. You can’t go up to that monster and say, like, ‘Get away from me, get away!’ You just can’t be that person in this world.

"That person dies. So I think there’s a responsibility in terms of how Hopper ends up that I’m eager for people to see, and I had to know that going in so I knew where to arc it.”