The hotly anticipated fifth and final season of Stranger Things was released on Netflix, but many viewers were left fuming as the streaming platform appeared to crash
05:21, 27 Nov 2025
The final season of Stranger Things has been eagerly awaited(Image: NETFLIX)
The final series of Stranger Things has been among the most eagerly awaited Netflix releases this year, but viewers were left fuming after the newly-dropped show appeared to crash the platform.
Alongside fans complaining on social media, Down Detector confirmed the Netflix crash was widespread. Reports of technical difficulties surged from virtually zero to nearly 15,000 within just 13 minutes of the series premiere, with the bulk of issues recorded at 5:09 PST.
The cult show makes its final bow as Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown) and her friends in Hawkins, Indiana unite in an attempt to vanquish Vecna for good. Frustrated viewers flocked to X to express their annoyance about the technical difficulties.
The cast of Stranger Things 5(Image: Dave Benett, Alan Chapman/Dave Benett/WireImagevia Getty Images)
“Waited all day in excitement to watch Stranger Things just for Netflix to crash,” one user penned, according to the Mirror US.
Another added: “A fourth added, “Really, Netflix! ! You wanna crash now ! ! i need to watch Stranger Things 5! ! ! Fix yourself! !”.
The technical meltdown even grabbed the attention of the programme’s producer, Ross Duffer.
“Netflix increased bandwidth by 30 percent to avoid a crash,” Duffer posted on Instagram, prior to the Season 5 release.
On Reddit, Netflix subscribers discussed previous service interruptions. “Remember Netflix streamed two nfl games on Christmas last year. I had no problems watching it for the whole day,” one user penned.
“It better not crash like 2022 that summer ugh I’ll bring Netflix downnn if they do,” another added.
Stars Millie Bobby Brown and David Harbour(Image: FilmMagic)
Back in July 2022, the platform also experienced outages when the concluding two episodes of Season 4 dropped. A comparable disruption occurred during the Mike Tyson–Jake Paul bout, marking one of Netflix’s initial forays into live broadcasting.
The upcoming season resumes with Hawkins placed under military lockdown and Eleven in hiding. The teenage ensemble schemes to hunt down and eliminate Vecna, the menacing entity unveiled in earlier instalments.
The show stars Millie Bobby Brown, Finn Wolfhard, Gaten Matarazzo, Caleb McLaughlin, and Noah Schnapp. Sadie Sink, Natalia Dyer, Charlie Heaton, Joe Keery, and Maya Hawke also make their comeback, alongside Winona Ryder and David Harbour.
Netflix has had outages before
Supporting actors include Cara Buono, Priah Ferguson, Eduardo Franco, Brett Gelman, Dacre Montgomery, Matthew Modine, Paul Reiser, Jamie Campbell Bower, Grace Van Dien, Robert Englund, Tyner Rushing, and Raphael Luce.
Autumn 1987 will serve as the setting for the concluding season as the crew gears up for their ultimate confrontation with Vecna, who has mysteriously vanished. Speculation is rife about who will make it through the final showdown, with fans anxious that some of their beloved characters might meet a tragic end.
Devotees of Stranger Things will recall the gut-wrenching fatalities in season four, with the chilling death of drug dealer and Hellfire Club leader Eddie Munson (played by Joseph Quinn) being particularly memorable.
The rebellious character, who secretly had a heart of gold, made the ultimate sacrifice in the Upside Down to protect his friends from the Demobats, in scenes that tugged at the heartstrings.
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