Stranger Things star David Harbour believes it’s time for the wildly popular Netflix show to end – and I wholeheartedly agree.
Speaking to Discussing Film (opens in new tab), Harbour said it was bittersweet that one of the best Netflix shows will end after ifs fifth and final season. However, the award-winning actor suggested it was for the best, and would allow the Duffer brothers – Stranger Things‘ creators – and the main cast to work on other projects.
As someone who’s watched Stranger Things since its premiere, it’ll be as bittersweet for me when the credits roll on Stranger Things season 5‘s final episode. That’ll officially bring down the curtain on one of Netflix‘s biggest hits and I, like every other fan of the series, will wonder what we’ll watch in a post-Stranger Things world.
Harbour is right, though, in his belief that Stranger Things should finish after five seasons; at least where the main show is concerned. The Duffer brothers and Netflix are already collaborating on new projects in the Stranger Things franchise, including a stage play and other spin-offs.
But I digress. The finish line is in sight for Stranger Things‘ main TV series, and that’s a good thing.
How so? Every show has its own lifecycle. Some work best with a three-season arc – a trilogy, if you will, which is an increasingly common production formula in the movie and TV industries. Others find success as a limited series, such as other Netflix hits like The Queen’s Gambit and Unbelievable. Then there are TV series, such as Grace and Frankie or Better Call Saul, that require five-plus seasons to wrap up their stories, and do so in highly entertaining fashion.
There are some shows, though, that simply outstay their welcome. The Walking Dead (11 seasons), How I Met Your Mother (nine seasons), Scrubs (nine seasons), and – whisper it quietly – even The Simpsons (34 seasons and counting) should have ended far earlier. They and countless others ran out of narrative steam before they were put out of their misery (in The Simpsons‘ case, the end is yet to come), allowing hugely successful shows to become shadows of their former selves.
With Stranger Things 5 set to be the final installment in the main show, it won’t fall into the same trap (unless season 5 absolutely sucks, that is). As long as the Duffer brothers wrap up the overarching story, and each character’s arc, in satisfying ways, Stranger Things will end on a high note rather than a low one.