Stranger Things Star Describes Season 5 as “Eight Movies” and Now Everyone’s Mad

After referring to Stranger Things Season 5 as “eight movies”, Maya Hawke has received a largely negative reaction from fans.

If Stranger Things Season 5 is indeed released in 2025, it will mark nearly a decade since the show first aired. The fact that it would have taken five seasons to be released in ten years is just one of the factors that may be contributing to Netflix’s decline in favor among fans of the fantasy series.

Recently, an offhand remark made by a member of the Stranger Things cast has sparked a new round of backlash.

In an interview with Podcrushed, Maya Hawke (known for her role as Robin Buckley) discussed the upcoming episodes, stating that the process of writing and shooting each season takes a significant amount of time. She compared the production to making eight movies.

🚨| Maya Hawke says Stranger Things 5 episodes are “8 movies” .#StrangerThings5 pic.twitter.com/bIMm8rydvW

— Stranger Things Updates (@Updates_SThings) June 28, 2024

The statement about there being “eight movies”has spread widely on social media, prompting many to express their frustration. It begs the question, can television shows truly be classified as such anymore?

As the number of seasons has decreased and the length of episodes has increased, the distinction between movies and TV shows has become more and more unclear. According to viewers’ comments, this trend has been met with dissatisfaction.

As a user on X stated, “I am eagerly awaiting the end of the trend of TV episodes being treated as ‘mini movies.’”This sentiment was echoed by others, as seen in comments such as “Television is no longer referred to as television.”

According to one comment, producing movies as television does not benefit either medium. Another comment added that they miss the days when television consisted of seasons with 12 or more episodes instead of the current trend of creating mini-movies.

Some comments have gone as far as to blame Stranger Things for this emerging trend. In fact, one comment posed the question: “Is it an overstatement to claim that this show has been solely responsible for the decline of television as a medium?”

“Another individual expressed that the show was a strong production that revolutionized television, comparing it to the Marvel Cinematic Universe of TV.”

We also have explainers available for the Upside Down and other new TV shows that are available for streaming this month.