The creators of the global phenomenon Stranger Things have opened up about the immense pressure and chaotic conditions they faced while bringing the show's decade-long story to a close. A revealing new Netflix documentary, One Last Adventure: The Making of Stranger Things 5, chronicles the turbulent final weeks of production, where the climactic episodes were being filmed without a finished script.
Production Pressure and Unwritten Scripts
In footage captured by director Martina Radwan, co-creators Matt and Ross Duffer are seen navigating what Matt described as "the most difficult writing circumstances we've ever found ourselves in." The pressure came from all sides, with the team getting "hammered constantly by production and by Netflix" to deliver the script for the eighth and final episode.
Matt admitted to the crew on set that while the ending was fully planned, the physical script was not yet written. "I have to write it, and we're just low on time," he confessed. The documentary highlights Day 117 of production, where filming on the finale began in earnest. Set production assistant Montana Maniscalco summed up the surreal situation, stating, "We are shooting episode 8, which isn't completely written yet."
A Race to the Finish Line
The stress of this unprecedented process was palpable. Matt Duffer expressed his discomfort, saying, "I've never read 8 through, and we're just shooting it... I've never done anything like this before. This is so weird... Don't love it." The script for the two-plus-hour finale, titled "The Rightside Up," was only finalised the Wednesday before the final table read on Sunday, 8 September 2024.
This last-minute scramble culminated in an emotional table read with the cast. Actor Finn Wolfhard described the preceding year as torture, telling the camera, "We had a year of being on the edge of our seats." Matt Duffer noted that the team spent more time on this single episode than any other in the show's history.
A Decade-Long Phenomenon Concludes
Stranger Things officially concluded on New Year's Eve, nearly ten years after its 2016 debut. The final season proved the show's enduring popularity, with Volume One amassing a staggering 59.6 million views in its first week. This briefly dethroned Netflix's previous English-language record-holder, Wednesday, which had garnered 56 million views in its first four days in 2022.
In a statement, the Duffer brothers expressed their gratitude, saying, "The sheer number of fans who have already watched Volume 1 is staggering... The show is now a decade old, and seeing the fanbase not only endure but continue to grow has been incredibly rewarding." The documentary One Last Adventure: The Making of Stranger Things 5 is available to stream globally on Netflix, offering fans a raw look at the challenging creation of television history.
