Stranger Things Season 5 Smashes All-Time Streaming Record Ahead Of Volume 2 Release

December 22, 2025

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Ahead of volume 2’s release, Stranger Things season 5 has already shattered an all-time streaming record. Volume 1, which consists of four episodes, was released on November 26 and quickly dominated Netflix’s streaming charts.

According to Nielsen, Stranger Things received 8.46 billion minutes of viewership during its debut week of November 24-30. This is the largest weekly viewing total of all time for any streaming show by more than 1 billion minutes. The Netflix series already had the record in this category following season 4’s 7.2 billion minutes of viewership following its premiere in 2022.

Viewing totals are not separated by season in Nielsen’s reports, although they did confirm that 57% of the 8.46 billion minutes came from the season 5, volume 1 episodes.

It is important to note that the releases of volume 1 in seasons 4 and 5 contain several crucial differences. Season 4 first released seven episodes while season 5 only released four. Additionally, season 4 debuted at 3am ET on a Friday, while season 5 debuted at 8pm ET on a Wednesday.

While the release time for Stranger Things season 5, volume 1 was arguably more optimal for early viewership, it had the disadvantage of three fewer episodes, which makes the new record all the more impressive. Season 5 also didn’t need a full week for its milestone numbers, while season 4 needed the full week of May 30-June 5.

The decision to release the first episodes of season 5 during the week of Thanksgiving has clearly paid off and will likely continue to do so with the remaining installments also coming out during the holidays. Volume 2 (episodes 5-7) releases on December 25 and volume 3 (episode 8) releases on December 31, also at the time of 8pm ET.

Stranger Things season 5, volume 1’s ending left fans on several major cliffhangers. Will Byers (Noah Schnapp) was revealed to have powers through tapping into the hive mind of Vecna (Jamie Campbell Bower), Kali Prasad/Eight (Linnea Berthelsen) returned for the first time since season 2, and Vecna kidnapped Derek Turnbow (Jake Connelly) and the other children that were targeted.

Between the years-long wait after Stranger Things season 4 ended and the month that audiences have had to wait after the latest cliffhangers, the new episodes are poised to continue with unparalleled viewership. They may even break the show’s own all-time streaming record again.