Production of Netflix’s fifth and final season Stranger things has been delayed by the labor unrest between the Writers Guild of America and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers.
Creators Matt and Ross Duffer shared the news in a tweet Saturday from the writers’ room’s official Twitter account for the show. “Duffers here. The writing doesn’t stop when the filming begins. While we are excited to start production with our amazing cast and crew, that is not possible during this strike. We hope there will be a fair deal soon so we can all get back to work. Until then – over and out. #wgastrong,” they wrote.
Sources at Netflix confirmed that production on the super-massive fifth and final season of the series will be delayed to a date to be determined, but declined to comment on the record.
The news comes after the first week of the writers’ strike, as the guild seeks viewer transparency from streamers, a higher pay floor, and protection against mini-rooms and the use of artificial intelligence.
A number of scripted productions have already been halted, either by choice or the disruption of not having showrunners or writers on set or picketers. Production on the Apple comedy Booty was disrupted on Friday by writers’ strike protesting, for example, the Bel-Air mega-mansion used for filming.
Netflix confirmed in early 2022 that the fifth season of Stranger things would be his last. The Duffer brothers have an overall deal with the streamer and were already working on a spin-off and an animated series set in the same world, among other unrelated projects, before the strike. Due to the delayed production, there will again be a considerable difference between the seasons. While season two aired a year after the first, there was a nearly three-year gap between seasons three and four, with the final season split into two parts.
