IT is the most expensive series of a TV show ever made and is tipped to become Netflix’s most popular export of all time.
But as the grand finale of approaches, the sci-fi epic has faced a backlash from fans, with even its stars and creators seemingly turning their backs on it.
Millie Bobby Brown as Eleven and David Harbour as Jim Hopper in Netflix’s Stranger ThingsCredit: Courtesy of Netflix
Millie aged 11 with shaved head playing main character Eleven in 2016Credit: Netflix
Millie and Sadie Sink attend the world premiere for the final seasonCredit: Getty
Set in the early Eighties, the show focuses on young girl Eleven — played by British actress — whose telekinetic powers open a gateway to alternate dimension the Upside Down, from which terrifying monsters are unleashed on her small town in Indiana.
Over the past decade, the show has become one of the biggest in the world, with over 1.2billion views and cast members launching huge careers off the back of it.
However, despite an estimated £471million budget for the fifth series, the latest batch of episodes, released on , have been savaged by fans.
And they now fear the last-ever instalment — a two-hour spectacle available to watch from 1am tomorrow — could be even more disappointing than the much-maligned finale in 2019.
Remarkably, creators seem to be trying to shift the blame on to by suggesting they were not able to spend enough time completing it.
Matt Duffer said: “We finished last week — or it was yanked away from us last week.
“I mean, we would be working on it for another year if we could. It feels very odd. But on the other hand, we’ve been working on it for three years, and it felt right — the right time to let it go.”
‘Torn to shreds’
Pre-empting a difficult audience reaction, he added: “I think some things happen in the finale that are very surprising, but we’re not trying to shock or upset anyone.
“I hope by the time people get to the end that it just feels like there’s something inevitable about what happens, and that it doesn’t feel painful but feels satisfying. We’ll see.”
Even more telling was lead star Millie’s reaction when asked if she was happy with her character Eleven’s ending.
In a clip which has since gone viral, the actress grimaces and shrugs awkwardly, looking around the room.
But , who plays Mike Wheeler, has insisted it won’t be as underwhelming as fans fear.
He said: “The way that Game Of Thrones got torn to shreds in that final season, we’re all walking into this going, ‘We hope to not have that kind of thing happen.’
“But then we read the scripts. We knew that it was something special.”
Fan theories suggest hours worth of scenes were cut from the latest episodes, which have been criticised for failing to answer questions which have been building since the show launched in 2016.
This led to the launch of a petition demanding the release of the “unseen footage”, which gathered more than 300,000 signatures.
It prompted Randy Havens — science teacher Scott Clarke on the show — to shoot down the theory, posting on : “Please don’t believe everything some random a** tell you on the internet.”
Fans have also criticised the show’s large cast online, mocking scenes for being overcrowded, and hitting out at writing they considered to be clunky and awkward.
Even has found herself the butt of the joke for some viewers, with posts poking fun at her seemingly unexpressive face attracting thousands of likes.
Others have lambasted the decision to make newcomer Holly Wheeler, played by British actress Nell Fisher, the focal point of the series over the more familiar characters.
The Bridge, which is the seventh instalment of the final series, has become the lowest-rated episode of the drama on TV and movie website IMDb with a score of 5.9/10.
It featured a scene in which the character Will Byers reveals he is gay, with some wondering if the flood of negative ratings was motivated by homophobia.
Sadie Sink as Max Mayfield and Nell Fisher as Holly Wheeler in the showCredit: © 2025 Netflix, Inc.
Noah Schnapp as Will Byers and Finn Wolfhard as Mike Wheeler in the Netflix hitCredit: Netflix
Noah as Will ByersCredit: © 2025 Netflix, Inc.
Others pointed out that the character’s sexuality had been heavily hinted at since the first season, and that fans were instead frustrated with the way the show revealed it.
And in recent months, drama off-screen has threatened to overshadow the show.
, who plays police chief Jim Hopper, was accused of cheating on his ex-wife on her bombshell album , released just weeks before the season five premiere.
Then allegations emerged that Millie, whose character is the adopted daughter of Hopper, had filed a formal complaint detailing bullying and harassment on set by David.
They tried to play it down at the LA premiere of the show, where they posed together for photos, but the claims were never denied.
And it’s been clear Millie has long been ready for the show to end.
She shaved her head to appear in series one, where she was paid £7,500 per episode.
But fast forward to today, she commanded a £920,000 salary for each of the eight episodes in the latest run — the highest of the entire cast.
In 2023, she said of the show’s end: “I think I’m ready.
“It’s been such a huge factor in part of my life, but it’s like graduating high school, it’s like senior year.
‘Lightning in a bottle’
“You’re ready to go and blossom and flourish and you’re grateful for the time you’ve had, but it’s time to create your own message and live your own life.”
And in a barbed dig, she added: “Stranger Things takes up a lot of time to film and it’s preventing me from creating stories that I’m passionate about.
“So I’m ready to say, ‘Thank you, and goodbye.’”
She was ready to give up on her dream of becoming an actress until, at the age of just 11, she landed the role on the show which made her a household name.
Joe Keery as Steve Harrington and Gaten Matarazzo as Dustin Henderson in the final seasonCredit: © 2025 Netflix, Inc.
Since then, Millie has starred in a string of major movies, wed rocker , and become a mum to their daughter — all by the age of 21.
And she’s earned a fortune, with her personal wealth now said to be worth more than £30million.
Brit Joseph Quinn as Eddie Munson in 2022Credit: Courtesy of Netflix
David Harbour with now-ex Lily Allen at the show’s 2022 series launchCredit: Getty
Netflix has made more than £790million in streaming revenue from Stranger Things since 2020 alone, but the money spent on making the show has ballooned.
The cost of producing each episode rose from $6million for the first series to $60million for the last, driven by the price of special effects and rocketing salaries.
and received $1.1million per episode for the latest run, while the “core four” younger cast — Finn Wolfhard, Gaten Matarazzo, Caleb McLaughlin, and Noah Schnapp — are said to have got $869,000 each.
Reflecting on what he has earned, Noah said: “I know I probably won’t do something as big as Stranger Things again.
“It’s the biggest show in the world.
“I’m grateful that Stranger Things has set me up financially to be OK for the rest of my life.
“What more could I ask for?”
But Finn suggested that money-hungry industry bigwigs may have taken advantage of the young cast.
Asked who cried the most when Stranger Things ended, he replied: “Our agents.”
The show has attracted millions of fans worldwide, spawning a West End prequel stage play.
And this brought a vast array of Stranger Things merchandise to stores, including pyjamas in , baubles in , Lego sets, phone cases, candles, calendars and even wrapping paper.
The show was also one of Netflix’s first massive successes as an original production — proving that making content was the route to further success for streaming services.
Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos said: “The launch of Stranger Things was the lightning in a bottle moment — our Star Wars moment — where we realised we can move the culture.”
The inclusion of in series four propelled the track to the top of the UK charts for the first time, and earned the reclusive singer over £10.8million.
Fans of the show will still be able to get their fix next year.
Stranger Things: Tales From ’85, an animated series set between seasons two and three of the original show, is due to be released in spring.
A live-action spin-off is also thought to be in the works, although the Duffer brothers teased that any new show would have a new story, new characters and new location.
Regardless of how the saga ends on , there’s no doubting Stranger Things has become a global phenomenon.
And although the creators are insisting this really is the end, many believe the cast could be tempted to return in a few years if questions remain over the story.
After all, Stranger Things have happened.
Biggest star is one in a Millie-on
STRANGER Things has brought a whole new generation of stars to the masses – several of whom are tipped for huge success now that the show is ending.
British actor Joseph Quinn got his major break as Eddie Munson in the fourth series and has since starred in Gladiator II and landed roles in Avengers: Doomsday and the upcoming Beatles biopics, playing George Harrison.
Sadie Sink, whose character Max Mayfield has just been brought back to life, has been praised as one of the brightest talents in the show and will prove her acting chops when she appears in a West End production of Romeo & Juliet in March.
It has also just been announced that she will star as Rachel Summers in Spider Man: Brand New Day, and appear in 2027’s Avengers: Secret Wars – which are expected to be two of the biggest blockbusters of the next two years.
But it is Millie who is already one of the most in-demand actresses in Hollywood.
She was paid £7.4m to star in and produce Enola Holmes 2 for Netflix, with a third on the way next year.
Millie will also star in a biopic about Olympic gymnast Kerri Strug called Perfect, as well as another supernatural Netflix series called Prism.
She is also adapting her debut historical novel Nineteen Steps, about her family history, and growing her beauty and skincare brand Florence by Mills.
And on top of all that, she has been busy running an animal rescue charity from her farm in Georgia in the US, where she lives.
Eze Chidiebere Paul
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