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Stranger Things Season 5 Reels From Fan Backlash Ahead of Jan. 1 Finale

Fan petitions plus rumor disputes overshadow record viewership.

Overview

  • Viewer approval has slid sharply, with the Rotten Tomatoes audience score near 57 percent and Episode 7 registering a series‑low around 5.8 on IMDb.
  • More than 200,000 people have signed a petition urging Netflix to release alleged deleted material, a claim traced to an unverified Google document.
  • Actor Randy Havens publicly rejected talk of any 'director's cut,' telling fans not to believe online rumors.
  • Netflix split the final eight episodes into three drops—Nov. 27 (1–4), Dec. 26 (5–7), and the feature‑length finale on Jan. 1—fueling debate over pacing and strategy.
  • Critics remain far more positive than audiences, even as Netflix reports massive engagement, including billions of streaming minutes in the season’s first days.