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Stranger Things season 5 Netflix views are behind season 4, with no real chance of overtaking

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By Molly Edwards published 12 March 2026

Stranger Things season 5 is proving less popular than season 4

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Caleb McLaughlin as Lucas, Sadie Sink as Max, Noah Schnapp as Will, and Gaten Matarazzo as Dustin in Stranger Things season 5
(Image credit: Netflix)
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Months after Stranger Things season 5 finally debuted on Netflix, it looks like the last season of the hit sci-fi show won't surpass its predecessor in popularity.

That's according to What's On Netflix, which has analyzed the numbers with help from Netflix viewership data collected by Netflix & Chiffres. Per the data, season 5 sits on 132.7 million views, over 70 days into its 91-day tracking window (Volume 2 was released on December 25, 2025, with the final episode arriving shortly afterwards on December 31).

Season 4 racked up 140.7 million views total, so Stranger Things season 5 has only two weeks to make up the 8 million shortfall – which What's On Netflix says is "mathematically impossible," considering its viewership curve has pretty much flattened. Unless a huge chunk of viewers suddenly get interested in season 5, it looks highly unlikely it can catch up to season 4.

Article continues below
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  • Caleb McLaughlin as Lucas, Sadie Sink as Max, Noah Schnapp as Will, and Gaten Matarazzo as Dustin in Stranger Things season 5 One Stranger Things actor only rated the season 5 finale 3.5 stars on Letterboxd
  • Sadie Sink as Max and Nell Fisher as Holly Wheeler in Stranger Things season 5 volume 2 Netflix didn't reign supreme in 2025 as Stranger Things loses to a kids' TV show as the most watched series of the year
  • Caleb McLaughlin as Lucas, Sadie Sink as Max, Noah Schnapp as Will, and Gaten Matarazzo as Dustin in Stranger Things season 5 In the TikTok theory era, Conformity Gate is no surprise – but it's distracting from a fitting Stranger Things finale

Still, Stranger Things season 5 is a huge success in its own right, coming in at number four on the all time most-watched English-language list (season 4 occupies the third spot).

The Stranger Things season 5 finale proved pretty controversial when it aired, with many disappointed with how the Duffer Brothers wrapped up their smash hit show – to the point that a conspiracy theory named Conformity Gate sprang into existence, with fans certain a secret finale was on the way.

While the main show is over, there is still more Stranger Things to come. The stage show The First Shadow could be heading to Netflix, while the spin-off Stranger Things: Tales from '85 is arriving on April 26.

In the meantime, fill out your watchlist with our guide to all the best Netflix shows to stream now.

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Molly Edwards
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I'm a Senior Entertainment Writer here at GamesRadar+, covering all things film and TV for the site's Total Film section. I previously worked on the Disney magazines team at Immediate Media, and also wrote on the CBeebies, MEGA!, and Star Wars Galaxy titles after graduating with a BA in English.

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