Don't dry your eyes just yet! Less than a week after the Stranger Things 5 finale, Netflix made an announcement that we weren't expecting, and it's the "one last adventure" that will allow us more time to say goodbye to Hawkins and all of our favorite characters.
No, there's no surprise bonus episode, but Netflix announced One Last Adventure: The Making of Stranger Things 5, a behind-the-scenes documentary that tracks the full production cycle of the show's final season. If you're still wondering how the Duffer Brothers came to the decisions they made in the series finale, we're going to see how everything came together in the end.
The documentary film drops on Monday, January 12, 2026 at 12 a.m. PT / 3 a.m. ET on Netflix and takes fans along for the ride as the cast and crew work hard on the final season. One Last Adventure was directed by Martina Radwan. In a statement, the Duffers revealed they were inspired by watching The Lord of the Rings documentaries on physical media and wanted to bring that back.
With the Stranger Things 5 documentary, they're going to do just that as they pull back the curtain on some of the polarizing finale decisions and twists that have had fans in heated debate since the series ended on Dec. 31. In addition to revealing the documentary's release date, Netflix also shared the official trailer, which gives a taste of what to expect. Watch the video below!
Stranger Things 5 documentary sets release date on Netflix
As you can see, the tears we shed while watching the series finale will definitely return on Jan. 12 thanks to One Last Adventure. Although we had previously seen small glimpses of the cast table reads in short video clips and photos, we haven't yet been privy to the footage of the emotional reading of the series finale script and the weeks leading up to that tearful celebration.
If you're one of the many Stranger Things fans who have been left reeling about Eleven's fate and what the series finale attempts to communicate about her seemingly open-ended ending, the documentary trailer suggests we will be seeing the Duffer Brothers struggle with how her story should end. Hopefully, this will provide more insight into how (and why) that decision was made.
Take a close look at what to expect with the official synopsis: "A decade after rewiring pop culture, Stranger Things returns for its final chapter. One Last Adventure: The Making of Stranger Things season 5 is a sweeping behind-the-scenes chronicle that follows the cast, creators, and crew as they bring the final season to life—and say goodbye to the show that changed them forever."
Netflix hasn't shared the documentary's runtime, but given how long Stranger Things 5 was in production and the extensive material that the film could cover, we're expecting the doc to be about as long as an episode of the show itself. No matter the length, it's going to be the closure a lot of us need after a heartbreaking (and to some, disappointing) farewell.
One Last Adventure: The Making of Stranger Things 5 premieres Monday, Jan. 12 on Netflix.