Netflix is sending off its hit sci-fi series Stranger Things with a massive marketing and merchandising push, coinciding with the debut of the show’s fifth and final season. Thousands of fans gathered in Los Angeles for a cycling event called “One Last Ride,” paying homage to the bike-riding teenagers of Hawkins, Indiana, the fictional town at the heart of the series.
The streaming giant is rolling out its largest consumer products program to date. Retailers, including Target, are offering more than 150 Stranger Things items, from Demogorgon Crunch cereal to Hellfire Club backpacks.
Many brands are tapping into 1980s nostalgia: Gatorade revived its Citrus Cooler flavor, and Walmart is selling Care Bears as part of a themed collection.
Netflix’s promotional efforts extend globally, with experiences such as a Hawkins Christmas market at Paris’ Galeries Lafayette and Hawkins Lab exhibits in cities including San Francisco, New York, Rio de Janeiro, and Sydney. Netflix Houses in malls also feature dedicated Stranger Things areas.
Unlike traditional releases, the final season will premiere in installments tied to holidays: four episodes debuting the day before Thanksgiving, three on Christmas Day, and the finale on New Year’s Eve. The show’s stars—Millie Bobby Brown, Finn Wolfhard, and Noah Schnapp—will also feature in a Stranger Things float in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.
Experts note the scale of Netflix’s push is more typical of blockbuster films like Barbie or Wicked, rather than TV shows. Fans attending events, like the LA bike ride, expressed excitement for the series finale, sharing how the show has been a meaningful part of their lives.
Beyond the final season, Netflix plans to extend the Stranger Things universe with a Broadway and West End play, an animated series set for next year, and a live-action spinoff exploring new stories within the same world.
Co-creator Ross Duffer emphasized that the spinoff will remain part of the Stranger Things universe while offering fresh narratives, and executive producer Shawn Levy promised fans something entirely new, asserting, “We are never going to repeat ourselves.”
