Winona Ryder Reveals Her True Feelings About Leaving Stranger Things
With Stranger Things nearing its final chapter, Winona Ryder opens up about the bittersweet sting of saying goodbye to a Netflix phenomenon she’s been integral to since day one.
So, Stranger Things is actually wrapping up. Netflix is sending one of its biggest shows off with a final season, and yeah, saying goodbye is messy. Winona Ryder just talked about it, and her take lands somewhere between sweet and a little brutal in that Hollywood way.
Ryder on the end: the kids grew up on this set
Ryder has been core to the series since day one and is expected to be all over Season 5. She recently sat down on Hot Ones with Sean Evans, and when he asked what the last day of shooting is going to feel like, she zeroed in on the younger cast. Her point: for a few of them, this show has been half their life. No wonder it is going to be a gut punch when the lights go down.
"Back when I was a young teenager and really thinking, 'God, am I ever going to see this person again?' And I remember explaining to a couple [of co-stars], 'Well, our friendship isn’t over.' But it does feel like that."
The memory that stuck with her
She drew a line from those feelings to one of her early projects, the film Square Dance with Jason Robards. After that shoot, she kept sending birthday cards to basically everyone on the crew for years. Some people never wrote back. It is a small but telling example of how close set life can feel — and how quickly it can evaporate once the job is over. That is the part she thinks will hit the Stranger Things kids hardest.
What to know right now
- Where she said it: Hot Ones, hosted by Sean Evans
- What she said: the younger cast has spent "half of their lives" on the series, so the goodbye is going to be emotional
- The anecdote: after Square Dance, she sent crew birthday cards for years and sometimes never heard back — a tough reality check
- Final season status: Stranger Things ends with Season 5, and Ryder is expected to have a major role
- Release plan: Season 5 rolls out in three parts, with the first four episodes dropping on November 26, 2025
It is a very human read on the end of a giant show: the monsters are fake, the friendships feel real, and the credits still roll anyway.