At long last, Stranger Things Season 5 finally premiered in late 2025, bringing Netflix’s signature series to a close after nearly a decade. While the show remained a huge draw in terms of viewership, Season 5 (perhaps unsurprisingly) generated much controversy as fans debated the merits of various creative choices and pointed out various plot holes. With that in mind, it wasn’t shocking when the revelations in the Stranger Things making-of documentary One Last Adventure also sparked a healthy amount of controversy. But despite the backlash from various corners of the fan base, Stranger Things is still at the top of the Netflix charts.
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For the week of January 12-18, One Last Adventure: The Making of Stranger Things 5 was the third-most-watched movie on Netflix worldwide. During that time, it accumulated 8.7 million views and was watched for a total of 17.9 million hours. On Netflix’s top 10 chart, One Last Adventure trailed only People We Meet on Vacation and The Rip. This was the first week in the top 10 for the documentary, which was released on January 12.
Stranger Things 5 Was Controversial, but the Franchise Still Has a Big Future at Netflix
As we’ve seen time and time again, it’s very hard to craft a satisfying ending to a pop culture phenomenon. You aren’t going to please everyone, especially with a fan base as large as Stranger Things, with people constantly theorizing about what could happen. But things definitely took a turn for the absurd as reactions to the finale kept coming in and viewers expressed their displeasure with certain aspects. For instance, Conformity Gate became a thing, as some people were convinced there was a ninth “real” final episode that Netflix would shadow drop. That obviously didn’t happen, but it illustrates how unhappy sections of the fan base were with Season 5.
Many people probably cued up the documentary in the hopes that it would provide some much-needed clarity and answers about lingering questions, but all it seemed to do was make the die-hards angry again. Revelations such as production starting without a finished script and debates about Eleven’s fate and the lack of monsters in the Abyss didn’t do much to smooth things over. The documentary only added fuel to that fire, highlighting why Stranger Things Season 5 became so divisive. Despite the responses to the fifth season and the documentary, Stranger Things isn’t going anywhere any time soon.
Netflix has plans to expand the franchise with spinoffs, including the upcoming animated series Stranger Things: Tales from ’85. There are other projects in the works, which will aim to expand the mythology by exploring new corners of the universe and telling stories about different characters. When looking at the viewership numbers, it’s easy to see why Netflix is interested in continuing the franchise. The property remains as popular as ever, and as the streaming realm enters a new era, holding on to established brands with widespread recognition is a smart business strategy.
It will be interesting to see how effective the spinoffs are at connecting with audiences. There’s a chance feelings about Season 5 and the documentary have soured people on Stranger Things as a whole, hurting interest in seeing the franchise continue. Even if the backlash doesn’t have that big of an impact (the opinions of die-hard fans arguing online is not reflective of the feelings of general viewers), the spinoffs will still have hurdles to clear. A main reason why Stranger Things was so successful was the characters, so the onus will be on the creative team to create a new ensemble for fans to fall in love with, which won’t be an easy task. Ideally, the Stranger Things spinoffs will be a hit, keeping the IP at the top of Netflix’s charts for the foreseeable future.
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