If anyone needed a sign that the Stranger Things Season 5 premiere is about to take over everyone’s evening, Netflix’s Top 10 list has been screaming it for days. Fans have been rewatching the entire Stranger Things saga in bulk, and now the wait is basically over. The first four episodes of Season 5 hit streaming today, November 26, for everyone with a Netflix subscription. Hawkins is calling again, and people are more than ready to answer.
According to Netflix’s Tadum rankings, both globally and in the US, all four earlier seasons are back in the Top 10 at the same time. Season 1. Season 2. Season 3. Season 4. Every chapter of the story has surged upward as people binge the whole journey before tonight’s premiere. It’s rare to see an entire series take over the charts like this, and it shows how dialed in viewers are ahead of the final showdown with the upside down.
Stranger Things Owns Netflix’s Charts Ahead of Season 5 Premiere
Scroll through the global list, and the pattern jumps out fast. Every major season is locked into a prime position with solid weekly numbers, and in some cases, you even see different eras of the series lined up side by side. Season 1 sits high in the top three with an estimated 4.1 million views as new fans jump in and longtime viewers start fresh. Season 4 isn’t far behind, landing in the number five spot with 3.3 million views. Seasons 2 and 3 fill in the middle with a steady 3.1 million each, riding the wave of full-series rewatches.
When four seasons from the same franchise pack the chart like this, it’s clear the fan base isn’t just excited. They’re fully locked into a cultural phenomenon that has been building for nearly 10 years.
Netflix’s Primetime Drop Signals a Major Event
Instead of the usual midnight release, Netflix went with a primetime rollout that lets everyone settle in, grab a snack, and hit play at the same time. It turns the premiere into a shared moment, not just another dump of episodes. It also kicks off a long holiday weekend when plenty of people will have the time to watch all four installments and trade theories before Volume 2 lands next month.
On top of that, the staggered release plan stretches the conversation across the entire season. With drops spread through November, December, and New Year’s Day, the finale won’t vanish in a single weekend. It gives the show room to own the cultural spotlight, the way weekly TV once did. Instead of everyone finishing the series at their own pace, Stranger Things is poised to dominate the holiday stretch from start to finish.
A Quick Look Back at Season 4 and What’s Coming Next
Fans racing through their rewatches know precisely how high the stakes are. Season 4 scattered the cast across Hawkins, California, Russia, and the Upside Down while Vecna zeroed in on teens, hunted Max, and revealed himself as Henry Creel. Eleven fought to rebuild her powers and face her past. Hopper clawed his way through a brutal Russian prison arc. Eddie made his unforgettable final stand. And by the end, the Rifts ripped through Hawkins, leaving the town under military lockdown. It was huge, chaotic, and emotional, leaving Season 5 with a lot to settle.
Today’s premiere jumps ahead to the fall of 1987 with Hawkins still in shock. Vecna has disappeared. The government is closing in on Eleven. The group is bracing for one last battle. And that old feeling of dread that started with Will’s disappearance is back, heavier and sharper than ever. Everything is bigger now, and everyone knows the finish line is close.
If you needed proof of how fired up people are for the final season, you didn’t need leaks or whispers. The Netflix charts already told the story. Hawkins fever is at its peak, and at 5 pm PT, Stranger Things Season 5 finally arrives, sending the kids the world met back in 2016 on their bikes for one last ride.