In a few short weeks, Stranger Things Season 5 will be here. The final chapters of Netflix’s outrageously popular series are coming soon, but I’m having the hardest time getting excited about our forthcoming return to Hawkins. Don’t get it wrong, I’m going to watch when the first slate of episodes drop on Thanksgiving (and again on Christmas, and yet again on New Year’s Eve). It’s just that I’m not dying to go back, ya know?
It’s not that I don’t like the show, as Stranger Things has been something my wife and I have watched together since our 9-year-old daughter was still in diapers. I can’t quite put my finger on it, but whether it’s the extended break between seasons, things coming up in my real life, or something else, I’m kind of bummed that the upcoming Netflix show isn’t getting me pumped…
Stranger Things Has Been One Of My Favorite Shows For Nearly A Decade
I’ll never forget the July 2016 day when I logged onto my Netflix subscription and saw this seemingly random show about a group of kids who find themselves at the center of a government conspiracy involving a mysterious alternate universe and all kinds of devilish monsters. Like we did with so many other binge-worthy Netflix shows, my wife and I (with our 5-month-old daughter sleeping next to us), watched it all over the course of a couple of days. We were hooked.
That’s been the case for the better part of the past decade. In the weeks, days, and hours leading up to the debut of each season, my wife and I cleared our schedules, put the kids to bed early (there are three at this point), and dove back into Hawkins and the Upside Down. It was our little ritual. Our momentary escape from our Midwestern existence. Our show.
It’s Bumming Me Out That I’m Not That Excited To Go Back To Hawkins
Though not much has changed on the home front since we left off with the Stranger Things Season 4 all-stars (Eddie Munson, RIP), I haven’t gotten all that excited for the fifth and final installment. I’m sure my mood will change as I start binging the various sets of episodes and hear Kyle Dixon and Michael Stein’s iconic score for the first time in three-and-a-half years, but for now, I’m really bummed out that I’m not bouncing off the walls, digging into fan theories, or watching the Season 5 trailer over and over again.
I don’t know if it’s a lack of promotion so far, or the fact that so much time has passed since I left off. I don’t really have the time or energy to go back and watch the entire series again, so maybe the stress of that is weighing on me as well. Statistically, I’m not alone in this thought process, but having company here isn’t really making that any easier to digest.
All of that being said, it probably wouldn’t be the worst idea to check back in on me when Stranger Things Season 5 premieres and wraps up the 2025 TV schedule. I think I’ll either be okay, or just have to be okay with my lack of enthusiasm.