We're almost there: with its debut on Netflix set for November 27, the fifth season of "Stranger Things" is preparing to close in style one of the most followed and appreciated television shows by the general public. Starting from the numerous references to the pop and cinematic culture of the '80s, the Duffer Brothers have created a story full of emotions and suspense, which intelligently combines horror shades, adventure and a deep reflection on authentic values and the power of friendship.

For the Broadway premiere of the musical “Stranger Things: The First Shadow,” which opened last week, much of the cast — including Noah Schnapp, Charlie Heaton, Jamie Campbell Bower, and Priah Ferguson — reunited for the event. Missing from the event were actresses Sadie Sink and Millie Bobby Brown; the latter, in particular, is currently busy filming “Enola Holmes 3,” a film in which she will play a detective alongside stars such as Henry Cavill, Helena Bonham Carter, and Louis Partridge.

Debuting at the Marquis Theatre, the show written by Kate Trefry and Stephen Daldry, which ran alongside season five, gave viewers a deep dive into the origins of “Stranger Things,” taking a closer look at the stories of Hopper, Joyce, Bob and Henry Creel in a retro setting in 1959 Hawkins. Speaking about this ambitious side project, Daldry said: “The show forced us, Kate and I, to really explore Henry’s past, which plays into season five, and the two projects were kind of in dialogue with each other. It was a little bit stressful because season five wasn’t fully fleshed out when the show was in previews, but it all fell into place. It was a race against time.”

And during the presentation, there could certainly be no shortage of spoilers for “Stranger Things 5” : a guest on the red carpet, the young actor Noah Schnapp - who plays Will Byers - revealed to The Hollywood Reporter that viewers should prepare themselves for a very intense experience, and that the final episode will have a “devastating” impact on them. Trying to imagine the fans’ reaction, he said: “I think people are going to be really devastated. As sad as it was, I’m so excited to see how the world reacts to the finale because everyone’s going to cry, it’s going to be sad. I don’t want to be so negative, it’s going to be a really great season and people are going to love it.”

Along those lines, co-creator Ross Duffer was keen to add, "I think ultimately, I hope, it's our most emotional season. The goal of those last few episodes is to hit you pretty hard emotionally because, in a lot of ways, it's the end of this journey that we've all been on, and it's also the end of childhood."

But, as we know, “Stranger Things” would be nothing without the charisma of its protagonists and the bond that unites them, so much so that the success of the show has profoundly affected the private lives of each of them. After Schnapp’s coming out, which occurred in 2023, the actor admitted, for example, that he lived his experience on set in a completely different way: «It was incredible. It’s a much better experience to be able to go on set finally knowing that I’m living the truth. It made this season a thousand times better, because I didn’t have to hide anymore».

Meanwhile, 22-year-old actor Finn Wolfhard told People that he regrets not seeking therapy when he was 13, when his fame was just starting to rise. On this sensitive topic, he said: "I don't think I would ever go back and do anything again, but if I had to, maybe I would go back to when the show first came out and exploded, and go into therapy right away. But it was all so crazy and sudden that there was no time to think about it."

But even with therapy, the actor believes he could have “made some mistakes in a different way. I think childhood, and life in general, is a matter of trial and error.” He concluded his reflection by saying, “I guess I was growing up and I had things going on in my head, and anxiety and things that I didn’t realize I had to bury because of how I felt at work.”

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