What time does Stranger Things 5 come out? New Netflix release set to cause confusion
Stranger Things 5 is already a historic season for Netflix, and it hasn’t even premiered yet. For the first four seasons of Stranger Things, Netflix rolled out new episodes at the same time: 12 a.m. PST. That’s when Netflix has released almost every single season of its US scripted shows, but that is not when Stranger Things 5 comes out. Stranger Things 5 Vol. 1 will be released at 5 p.m. PST / 8 p.m. EST on Wednesday, Nov. 26. For the first time, Netflix is testing a prime time release strategy, and it’s doing so with its biggest new release of all time. The first four episodes of Stranger Things 5, which makes up Vol. 1, will be released on Wednesday at 8 p.m. EST. Looking at the episodes runtimes, which the Duffer brothers confirmed, the episodes run about an hour each, with the fourth episode pushing closer to an hour and a half. There are three episodes in Stranger Things 5 Vol. 2, and those episodes will be released at the same time on Thursday, Dec. 25, which is Christmas Day. The Stranger Things 5 finale will be released on New Year’s Eve (Wednesday, Dec. 31) at 5 p.m. PST / 8 p.m. EST.I’m sure that more than a few Netflix fans will be confused with the prime time release! I’m sure many fans saw the Nov. 26 release date and planned to watch at midnight PT. If fans do that, there will not be any episodes available to watch. Instead, you’ll have to wait 17 hours until 5 p.m. PST / 8 p.m. EST to start watching the new episodes. It’s hard enough to remember the premiere date for all these shows, but most Netflix fans know that the streamers’ new shows and movies almost always are released at 12 a.m. PST, which is 3 a.m. EST. Netflix didn’t even release Stranger Things 4 part 2 in prime time. Instead, millions of fans all over the US tuned in to watch in the middle of the night or very early in the morning. Here’s when US fans can watch Stranger Things 5 Vol. 1 on Netflix: Hawaii: 3 p.m. HST on Wednesday, Nov. 26 Alaska: 4 p.m. AKST on Wednesday, Nov. 26 Pacific (US): 5 p.m. PST on Wednesday, Nov. 26 Mountain (US): 6 p.m. MST on Wednesday, Nov. 26 Central (US): 7 p.m. CST on Wednesday, Nov. 26 Eastern (US): 8 p.m. EST on Wednesday, Nov. 26 So, in that way, US fans are lucky that they don’t have to do that again, but it’s bound to cause lots of confusion for international viewers. Noah Schnapp and Jamie Campbell Bower in Stranger Things season 5. Courtesy of Netflix © 2025 Normally, with the midnight PT premieres, the release date is basically the same for every country, minus a few timezone differences in Alaska, Hawaii, and the South Pacific. Well, things get a little more complicated for non-US viewers in Europe, Africa, Asia and Australia. In those places, because of the time zones, Stranger Things 5 Vol. 1 actually premieres on Thursday, Nov. 27. If you live in the UK, you can start watching Stranger Things 5 Vol. 1 at 1 a.m. GMT. If you live in France, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Spain, or Italy, you can start watching Stranger Things 5 at 2 a.m. CET. We shared a full breakdown of the release times for Stranger Things 5 Vol. 1 in many of the world’s most populated cities, countries, and time zones. Mexico City, Mexico: 7 p.m. CST on Wednesday, Nov. 26 Toronto, Canada: 8 p.m. EST on Wednesday, Nov. 26 Buenos Aires, Argentina: 10 p.m. ART on Wednesday, Nov. 26 São Paolo, Brazil: 10 p.m. BRT on Wednesday, Nov. 26 Dublin, Ireland: 1 a.m. GMT on Thursday, Nov. 27 London, England: 1 a.m. GMT on Thursday, Nov. 27 Lisbon, Portugal: 1 a.m. WET on Thursday, Nov. 27 Paris, France: 2 a.m. CET on Thursday, Nov. 27 Berlin, Germany: 2 a.m. CET on Thursday, Nov. 27 Madrid, Spain: 2 a.m. CET on Thursday, Nov. 27 Rome, Italy: 2 a.m. CET on Thursday, Nov. 27 Amsterdam, Netherlands: 2 a.m. CET on Thursday, Nov. 27 Bucharest, Romania: 3 a.m. EET on Thursday, Nov. 27 Athens, Greece: 3 a.m. EET on Thursday, Nov. 27 Cairo, Egypt: 3 a.m. EET on Thursday, Nov. 27 Istanbul, Turkey: 4 a.m. EEST on Thursday, Nov. 27 Nairobi, Kenya: 4 a.m. EAT on Thursday, Nov. 27 Baghdad, Iraq: 4 a.m. AST on Thursday, Nov. 27 New Delhi, India: 6:30 a.m. IST on Thursday, Nov. 27 Perth, Australia: 9 a.m. AWST on Thursday, Nov. 27 Manila, Philippines: 9 a.m. PHST on Thursday, Nov. 27 Seoul, South Korea: 10 a.m. KST on Thursday, Nov. 27 Tokyo, Japan: 10 a.m. JST on Thursday, Nov. 27Sydney, Australia: 12 p.m. AEDT on Thursday, Nov. 27 Auckland, New Zealand: 2 p.m. NZDT on Thursday, Nov. 27 Obviously, some of those release times work out better for a few places, including the United States, North American and South American fans probably squeeze in most of the episodes before going to bed. If you live in Europe or Africa, though, this is a tough release schedule! The episodes are basically dropping in the middle of the night. So, you can either wake up and watch with the rest of the world, or you can wait until it’s convenient for you and try to avoid spoilers. Of course, because of the way time zones work, there’s no perfect release strategy for Netflix, but I do appreciate the network going with a prime time release in the United States. It’s going to be a wild couple of nights with everyone watching, in America, together. Stay tuned for more news about Stranger Things 5!
