It’s hard to believe, but we’re officially in the home stretch with just hours separating us and the Stranger Things series finale.
After waiting years for the final season, it all comes down to one final episode in which the Hawkins crew will face off against Vecna in a battle to save the world. Fans are anxiously waiting to see how Netflix’s biggest show comes to a close, and are preparing to say goodbye to Hawkins and the amazing characters we’ve come to know and love over the years.
The series finale drops on New Year’s Eve, but when exactly should you settle in with some Eggos, Scoops Ahoy ice cream, and Boppers to enjoy the final episode of Stranger Things?
Stranger Things season 5 finale release time
As has been the case with each volume in the Stranger Things season 5 release strategy, the Stranger Things series finale will release at 8 p.m. ET on Netflix. Not located on the East Coast and unsure when the finale will drop for your particular time zone? Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered! Here’s when you can expect the final episode of Stranger Things to release in several key time zones across the U.S. and beyond:
- Hawaii: 3:00 p.m. HST on Wednesday, December 31
- Alaska: 4:00 p.m. AKDT on Wednesday, December 31
- West Coast of the US: 5:00 p.m. PT on Wednesday, December 31
- Mountain Time: 6:00 a.m. MT on Wednesday, December 31
- Midwest of the US: 7:00 p.m. CT on Wednesday, December 31
- East Coast of the US: 8:00 p.m. ET on Wednesday, December 31
- Brazil: 10:00 p.m. BRT on Wednesday, December 31
- UK: 1:00 a.m. GMT on Thursday, January 1
- France: 2:00 a.m. CET on Thursday, January 1
- Germany: 2:00 a.m. CET on Thursday, January 1
- Italy: 2:00 a.m. CET on Thursday, January 1
- Spain: 2:00 a.m. CET on Thursday, January 1
- South Africa: 3:00 a.m. SAST on Thursday, January 1
- Israel: 3:00 a.m. IST on Thursday, January 1
- India: 5:30 a.m. IST on Thursday, January 1
- South Korea: 10:00 a.m. KST on Thursday, January 1
- Japan: 10:00 a.m. JST on Thursday, January 1
- Sydney, Australia: 12:00 p.m. AEDT on Thursday, January 1
The Stranger Things finale might not arrive on time for everyone
Now, while the Stranger Things series finale is slated to drop at 8 p.m. ET globally on Netflix, that doesn’t mean everyone will be able to watch the finale at the same time.
The release of Stranger Things season 5 volume 1 on November 26 and the release of Stranger Things season 5 volume 2 on Christmas Day both resulted in Netflix outages. While the volume 1 outage was much more localized and resolved itself after a few minutes, the volume 2 outage was a bit more widespread and took a bit longer to resolve.
Fans reported issues not being able to view the new volume 2 episodes until over 25 minutes in some instances. This led to understandable frustration and confusion among fans, who were quick to take to social media to complain about their inability to watch the three new episodes.
Given that things have progressively gotten worse with the release of each new volume, there is a strong chance that Netflix will experience a crash on December 31 timed to the release of the series finale, and that this crash could impact more users. If this ends up being the case, there is a chance some fans might have a long night ahead of them on New Year’s Eve and could have to wait anywhere from 5 to 25 minutes or longer for the series finale to hit their Netflix account.
Hopefully Netflix will have sorted things out by the time the series finale arrives, but don't be surprised if you happen to see fans complaining on social media or are met with the Nailed It cake error screen when 8 p.m. rolls around on December 31.