Co-creator Ross Duffer shared the runtimes for the next two batches of episodes, slated for Christmas and New Year’s Day.

Stranger Things season 5 final runtimes revealed — including a change to the supersized series finale

Co-creator Ross Duffer shared the runtimes for the next two batches of episodes, slated for Christmas and New Year's Day.

By Shania Russell

Shania Russell

Shania Russell is a news writer at *, *with five years of experience. Her work has previously appeared in SlashFilm and Paste Magazine.

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December 22, 2025 4:20 p.m. ET

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Millie Bobby Brown as Eleven in season 5 of 'Stranger Things'. Credit:

Your *Stranger Things* Christmas Day binge finally has a total runtime. And yes, it's long.

Series co-creator Ross Duffer has unveiled the runtimes for volume 2 of* Stranger Things*' final season. The last batch of episodes are slated to drop on Christmas Day, while the series finale will arrive on New Year's Eve.

Episode 5, titled "Shock Jock," is one hour and eight minutes long, and episode 6, "Escape From Camazotz," will run for one hour and 15 minutes, according to Duffer's Monday Instagram post. Episode 7, ominously titled "The Bridge," will span one hour and six minutes.

Fans will then have to wait one week for episode 8, "The Rightside Up," where they will learn the fates of all their favorite characters in the sci-fi saga's grand finale.

Caleb McLaughlin as Lucas Sinclair, Noah Schnapp as Will Byers, Winona Ryder as Joyce Byers, Maya Hawke as Robin Buckley, and Finn Wolfhard as Mike Wheeler on 'Stranger Things'.

While Netflix previously listed the finale as being two hours and five minutes long, Ross Duffer's post made a slight adjustment: The final episode will actually last two hours and *eight* minutes, easily clocking in as the longest of the season and overall series.

The finale is also special for another reason. In addition to wrapping up the story of Hawkins, "The Rightside Up" will be available to screen in theaters across the country. Netflix previously announced that 500-plus locations across North America will participate in the episode's limited theatrical release, from Dec. 31 to Jan. 1.

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Series creators Ross and Matt Duffer previously told* *that plans for a theatrical rollout for the finale have been in the works for months.

"Everyone had to play super coy for a long time because they were still ironing out all the details with the theaters," Matt shared. "I know we've talked about the theatrical experience, but Ross and I never asked Netflix to do it because it just never really made sense to me. It only is cool if everyone's experiencing it for the first time together."

Sadie Sink as Max Mayfield and Nell Fisher as Holly Wheeler on 'Stranger Things'.

Courtesy of Netflix

He continued, "So when Netflix came to us with the idea of having the finale premiere on its own, then that was when we suggested the idea of doing it theatrically because it would really function like a movie."

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As for what exactly will go down in the grand finale? Fans can only wonder. *Strangers Things *season 5, volume 1, concluded with a massive revelation that saw Noah Schnapp's Will Byers enjoy a big hero moment, saving his friends from the wrath of demogorgons with his newfound abilities. But Max (Sadie Sink) remains trapped in a Vecna-induced coma and many Hawkins children have been snatched into the Upside Down, as part of the villain's schemes.

More secrets from *Stranger Things'*s final season will be unveiled when volume 2 drops on Christmas Day, with the series finale arriving on New Year's Eve.**

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Source: “EW Sci-Fi”