Did the Duffer Brothers just kill their career before it even started? Sound familiar?
The backlash to the Stranger Things finale is now being openly compared to the Game of Thrones ending, and that comparison is not a compliment.
What started as frustration over bloated episodes and weak writing has turned into full-blown backlash.
Fans are angry, ratings are sliding, and social media sentiment has flipped fast. Just like Game of Thrones, a once-beloved series is ending with disappointment instead of celebration.
Stranger Things Season 5 the worst season of the series by far.
— Nerdrotic (@Nerdrotics) December 26, 2025
Comically bad. pic.twitter.com/VZO2wqBaoM
The Game of Thrones Cautionary Tale
Everyone remembers what happened next.
After the Game of Thrones finale meltdown, creators David Benioff and D.B. Weiss walked away from HBO under a cloud.
They were supposed to make a Star Wars movie for Disney. That project quietly disappeared. Officially, reasons were never spelled out. Unofficially, the backlash followed them.
They landed at Netflix with 3 Body Problem. Despite massive hype and spending, the show barely squeaked out a second season renewal. Hardly the victory lap Netflix was hoping for.
The Duffer Bros Exit Netflix
Now history may be repeating itself.
Following Stranger Things, the Duffer Brothers are leaving Netflix and have signed a four-year deal with Paramount, starting in April. On paper, it sounds like a win. In reality, it raises eyebrows.
Stranger Things was Netflix’s crown jewel. If the finale had landed cleanly, the Duffers would be untouchable.
Instead, they’re exiting right as the backlash peaks, with fans openly questioning their writing choices, pacing, and obsession with message-first storytelling.
A Woke Finale Meets a Changing Hollywood
The timing couldn’t be worse for the Duffer Brothers.
Stranger Things is ending with one of its most divisive, agenda-heavy finales yet, exactly as Hollywood power dynamics are shifting.
Paramount, meanwhile, has been reported to be moving in a more openly MAGA-friendly direction, leaning away from the kind of messaging that dominates Stranger Things’ final stretch.
Studios don’t exist to make statements. They exist to make money. And right now, the industry is backing away from content that sparks backlash instead of buzz.
Netflix even just canceled its woke military coming-of-age comedy-drama, Boots.
The girl-bossing in Stranger Things S5 is another example of how this show has fallen off…
— Jon Root (@JonnyRoot_) December 28, 2025
Nancy Wheeler, who is 5 ft. nothing 90 lbs soaking wet, is like a Navy SEAL and John Wick combined, taking out highly-trained military personnel. She also broke up with her bf because she… pic.twitter.com/OEvonJPGwX
Will the Duffers Follow Weiss and Benioff?
That’s the uncomfortable comparison nobody wants to make, but everyone is making anyway.
Weiss and Benioff went from untouchable to radioactive almost overnight. The Duffer Brothers are now staring down a similar moment. A finale widely mocked. Fans turning hostile. Critics hedging. Social media roasting every creative decision.
Paramount may be betting that the Stranger Things brand damage stays with Netflix. Good luck with that.
Stranger Things S5 was doomed from the start bc it was written back during the era of Peak Woke before the writers' strike and then filmed before Trump won in 2024
— Jack Posobiec (@JackPosobiec) December 27, 2025
Here we can see Wokeness literally jammed down the throats of children
Hollywood Has a Short Memory for Failure
Hollywood forgives a lot. What it doesn’t forgive is ending a cash cow badly.
Stranger Things didn’t just stumble; it face-planted. And history shows that creators don’t always escape that kind of damage intact. Weiss and Benioff. Taika Waititi. The list goes on and on.
The Duffers are about to find out whether Stranger Things was a fluke… or their peak. Likely both.
And certainly the fans won’t be forgetting anytime soon.
