‘Stranger Things’ nears an end with a culturally impactful 9-year run on Netflix. Season 5 delivered Netflix its biggest-ever opening week for an English-language series, pushing the show’s lifetime total past 1.2 billion views—the highest of any Netflix series. By Netflix’s measurement system, ‘Stranger Things’ now outperforms every other show on the platform, including ‘Wednesday’ and ‘Squid Game.’ Season 4 remains Netflix’s No. 2 most popular English-language TV season ever, while Season 3 only recently dropped off the all-time chart.

In just 25 days, Season 5 Volume 1 reached 102.6 million views and is already poised to enter Netflix’s all-time rankings, with a strong chance to claim the No. 1 spot in early 2026.

Season 5 has ranked No. 1 weekly in 90 of 93 countries, while driving renewed viewership of earlier seasons. ‘Stranger Things’ became the first Netflix series to place all five seasons in the global Top 10 simultaneously, a feat it continues to sustain weeks after the final season’s debut.

Beyond streaming, the show has repeatedly reshaped pop culture. Season 4 revived ‘Running Up That Hill,’ earning Kate Bush her first U.S. Top 10 hit decades after release, while Metallica saw ‘Master of Puppets’ chart anew. Season 5 continued the trend, with Spotify reporting massive streaming spikes for legacy songs by Diana Ross, ABBA, and others. Fans have created more than 205,000 ‘Stranger Things’-themed playlists since 2016.

The show also boosted brands like Eggo, fueled renewed interest in Dungeons & Dragons, and generated blockbuster marketing campaigns, including an Nabisco collaboration that reached 11 billion impressions.

Economically, ‘Stranger Things’ has created over 8,000 U.S. jobs and contributed $1.4 billion to the national GDP, with Georgia and California seeing the largest gains. The franchise has expanded into publishing, live events, and theater, including the award-winning stage prequel ‘Stranger Things: The First Shadow.’ In a rare move for Netflix, the series finale will also screen in U.S. and Canadian theaters.

The show has likewise launched major careers, most notably that of Millie Bobby Brown, along with a new generation of stars whose social followings and film, TV, and music opportunities exploded alongside the series.

Measured across viewership, music, marketing, economics, and talent discovery, ‘Stranger Things’ stands as one of the most powerful pop culture phenomena of the last decade.

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