After the explosive two-hour finale of Stranger Things dropped on New Year’s Eve, fans are grappling with the end of a cultural phenomenon that defined a generation of television. But as the gate to the Upside Down finally closes, there is no shortage of stories ready to fill the supernatural void.

SPOILER ALERT! This post contains details from the series finale of Netflix’s Stranger Things. Matt and Ross Duffer have officially closed the book on Stranger Things. The supernatural Netflix series rang in 2026 with an epic and emotional two-hour finale that saw the Hawkins crew finally defeat Vecna (Jamie Campbell Bower) and destroy the Upside

The Gate stars Stephen Dorff (yes, that Stephen Dorff) as a 12-year-old boy named Glen who, along with his heavy metal-loving, nerdy friend Terry, discovers a gateway to Hell in his backyard. The removal of a pesky tree opens the portal, and as soon as Glen's parents head out of town for the weekend, weirdness ensues.

Eleven accidentally created the Upside Down when she opened the gate in Stranger Things season 1. This happened during her forced experiment at Hawkins Lab. Duffer made it clear that this was not a choice she made freely.

Stranger Things finally revealed Eleven’s fate in an epic season 5 and series finale. For a while, I wasn’t totally sure I was on board with how things played o

Some compared the Netflix series to "Game of Thrones" and said its ending was "predictable," while others said it "landed the plane" and concluded in "the best way possible"