Netflix’s Stranger Things is returning for its fifth and final season, bringing the long-running hit sci-fi drama to its endgame.
After three years, the show heads back to Hawkins as the Upside Down continues to spread and as the core group of characters have one last showdown with the supernatural.
The new season will be released in three parts, with the first four episodes arriving on Wednesday (or Thursday, depending on location), followed by three more at Christmas and a feature-length finale on New Year’s Eve.
Season five release across time zones
The new season of Stranger Things will be released at 8pm (Eastern Time) on Wednesday, which means it will come out at 5am (Gulf Standard Time) on Thursday in the UAE.
Here is when the show is expected to drop in other global time zones:
- 1am in the UK (GMT)
- 2am in western and central Europe (CET, UTC+1)
- 3am in Jordan, Lebanon and Egypt (UTC+2)
- 4am in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar and Bahrain (UTC+3)
- 5am in the UAE and Oman (GST, UTC+4)
- 6.30am in India and Sri Lanka (IST, UTC+5:30)
- 8am in Western Indonesia, 9am in Central Indonesia and 10am in Eastern Indonesia
- 9am in the Philippines, China, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore (UTC+8)
- 10am in Japan and South Korea (JST/KST, UTC+9)
- Noon in Sydney and Melbourne (AEDT, UTC+11)
- 2pm in New Zealand (NZDT, UTC+13)
- 3am in South Africa (SAST, UTC+2)
What are the episodes titled?
Episode 1, The Crawl
Episode 2, The Vanishing of …
Episode 3, The Turnbow Trap
Episode 4, Sorcerer
Episode 5, Shock Jock
Episode 6, Escape from Camazotz
Episode 7, The Bridge
Episode 8, The Rightside Up
Who is in the cast?
Most of the Stranger Things cast will return, including its young stars Millie Bobby Brown, Finn Wolfhard, Gaten Matarazzo, Caleb McLaughlin, Sadie Sink and Noah Schnapp. The series also stars Priah Ferguson, Joe Keery, Natalia Dyer, Charlie Heaton, Maya Hawke, Jamie Campbell Bower, Winona Ryder and David Harbour.
New to the final season are Nell Fisher, Jake Connelly and Alex Breaux, along with Terminator star Linda Hamilton, who is a longtime fan of the show.
“I’ve watched every season with relish. I just love it,” Hamilton told Us Weekly last year. “So it’s kind of like imposter syndrome where I don’t [feel that I] fit in there. That’s a whole world set in the ’80s.”
What happened at the end of season four?
The end of season four came out in July 2022, so it’s been a while. For those who need a refresher, here’s what to remember.
At Hawkins Lab, Eleven confronts the mysterious “Peter” – later revealed to be Henry Creel, also known as Vecna – who had been manipulating events while posing as a kind orderly.
Eleven regains her powers, leading to a major showdown, during which she overpowers Vecna and sends him back into the Upside Down. Meanwhile, in Hawkins, Vecna brutally attacks Max, leaving her with broken limbs and temporarily dead until Eleven psychically revives her. Max survives, but is left in a coma and blind.
Elsewhere, Eddie Munson makes a heroic sacrifice by distracting Vecna’s demobats with a guitar solo in the Upside Down. He dies in the process, and despite his bravery, the town continues to blame him for earlier deaths.
The finale ends with Hawkins torn apart by massive, fiery fissures, evidence that Vecna has successfully begun merging the Upside Down with the real world. Dr Brenner is also killed during the chaos, leaving Eleven free, but emotionally shaken. As the town reels and the group comes back together, the stage is set for one final battle in season five.
What have the Duffer Brothers said about a spin-off?
While this may be the end of Hawkins, it isn’t the end of the story. A spin-off is in development, reports Variety – one with new characters and a different era – though the creators have said little about how, or if, it connects to the main series.
But for fans eager to see how the story may continue, the show’s creators – the Duffer Brothers – tell The National that the finale will offer a first glimpse at what comes next.
“There’s one small scene in the finale that gives a hint as to what the spin-off will be,” Ross Duffer says. “We’ll see if people pick up on it.”
Timeline
2012-2015
The company offers payments/bribes to win key contracts in the Middle East
May 2017
The UK SFO officially opens investigation into Petrofac’s use of agents, corruption, and potential bribery to secure contracts
September 2021
Petrofac pleads guilty to seven counts of failing to prevent bribery under the UK Bribery Act
October 2021
Court fines Petrofac £77 million for bribery. Former executive receives a two-year suspended sentence
December 2024
Petrofac enters into comprehensive restructuring to strengthen the financial position of the group
May 2025
The High Court of England and Wales approves the company’s restructuring plan
July 2025
The Court of Appeal issues a judgment challenging parts of the restructuring plan
August 2025
Petrofac issues a business update to execute the restructuring and confirms it will appeal the Court of Appeal decision
October 2025
Petrofac loses a major TenneT offshore wind contract worth €13 billion. Holding company files for administration in the UK. Petrofac delisted from the London Stock Exchange
November 2025
180 Petrofac employees laid off in the UAE
Dates for the diary
To mark Bodytree’s 10th anniversary, the coming season will be filled with celebratory activities:
- September 21 Anyone interested in becoming a certified yoga instructor can sign up for a 250-hour course in Yoga Teacher Training with Jacquelene Sadek. It begins on September 21 and will take place over the course of six weekends.
- October 18 to 21 International yoga instructor, Yogi Nora, will be visiting Bodytree and offering classes.
- October 26 to November 4 International pilates instructor Courtney Miller will be on hand at the studio, offering classes.
- November 9 Bodytree is hosting a party to celebrate turning 10, and everyone is invited. Expect a day full of free classes on the grounds of the studio.
- December 11 Yogeswari, an advanced certified Jivamukti teacher, will be visiting the studio.
- February 2, 2018 Bodytree will host its 4th annual yoga market.
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
The five pillars of Islam
