Grab your Eggos and don't let go because we're finally heading back to the Upside Down.
Created by brothers Matt and Ross Duffer, Stranger Things came out in 2016 and quickly became a pop culture sensation as viewers were unable to resist the nostalgic adventures, fierce friendships and monster mysteries that were going down in Hawkins, Ind. Its young cast—Millie Bobby Brown, Finn Wolfhard, Gaten Matarazzo, Caleb McLaughlin and Noah Schnapp—were overnight sensations, David Harbour became a sex symbol and Winona Ryder staged a major comeback.
Now, six years, four seasons and a lot of bad hairstyles in, fans are preparing to say goodbye to Eleven, Mike, Chief Hopper and the rest of the gang. And Netflix confirmed that production on the fifth and final season of Stranger Things is underway by sharing a sweet group photo of the Hawkins crew back on set.
"THIS IS A CODE RED," the streaming service announced in an Instagram post Jan. 8. "STRANGER THINGS 5 production has officially begun!!!"
The black-and-white photo showed all the returning cast members reuniting ahead of the final season, including the seven OG cast members, the Duffer brothers and Sadie Sink, Joe Keery, Charlie Heaton, Brett Gelman, Maya Hawke, Natalia Dyer, Jamie Campbell Bower and Priah Ferguson.
While the final installment was initially slated to begin filming last May, the Writers Guild of America and, ultimately, the SAG-AFTRA strike shuttered production for months.
But did you know that the show almost never made it to air, with many networks turning down the Duffer brothers' homage to the movies they loved in the 1980s? And you thought the Mind Flayer and Vecna were evil.
Check out all these fun facts you might not know about Stranger Things, including the show's original title, the two beloved characters who were supposed to die in season one and the actor who filmed himself dancing in a G-string to land his role. Hey, stranger things have happened...
Stranger Things is streaming on Netflix.
This story was originally published on Monday, May 30, 2022 at 3 a.m. PT.