The fifth and final season of Stranger Things wrapped up on New Year’s Eve with an episode that divided viewers — and, apparently, Emmy voters.
Season 5 received seven Emmy nominations on Wednesday morning, but they were all in the below-the-line categories. Notably, it missed key races like series (for the first time), writing, directing, and acting. Here is the show’s full nominations breakdown for the 2026 Emmys:
- Best Production Design (Period or Fantasy) for “Chapter Four: Sorcerer”
- Best Makeup (Prosthetic) for “Chapter Four: Sorcerer”
- Best Music Supervision for “Chapter Eight: The Rightside Up”
- Best Sound Editing for “Chapter Eight: The Rightside Up”
- Best Sound Mixing for “Chapter Eight: The Rightside Up”
- Best Stunt Coordination
- Best Visual Effects
The first four seasons all earned Best Drama Series bids, while Seasons 1 and 2 were recognized for writing and directing.
Acting-wise, David Harbour as Jim Hopper and Millie Bobby Brown as Eleven previously received two supporting nominations apiece, and Shannon Purser earned a guest bid for Season 1.
For the final season, Netflix campaigned 12 performers for Emmy consideration, all in the supporting categories. Joining Harbour and Brown were the following: Jamie Campbell Bower as Vecna, Joe Keery as Steve Harrington, Gaten Matarazzo as Dustin Henderson, Caleb McLaughlin as Lucas Sinclair, Noah Schnapp as Will Byers, Finn Wolfhard as Mike Wheeler, Natalia Dyer as Nancy Wheeler, Maya Hawke as Robin Buckley, Winona Ryder as Joyce Byers, and Sadie Sink as Max Mayfield.
The last episode, titled “The Rightside Up,” culminated in a showdown between our heroes and Vecna in the Upside Down, which was revealed to be an interdimensional bridge connecting our world to the Abyss. While the characters initially believed Eleven had sacrificed herself to save them, a final vision suggested she may still be alive, living peacefully abroad.
Stranger Things could have made the “fond farewell” argument in order to get back into Best Drama Series, but that would require the farewell to have been fond. Instead, the finale perplexed a certain portion of the fandom enough that they created a whole conspiracy theory — “Conformity Gate” — that suggested there was still one more episode to come. It never came.
To date, the program has biked away with 12 Emmy Awards, all in the craft races: casting, main title design, main title theme music, music supervision, picture editing, prosthetic makeup, sound editing (x4), sound mixing, and stunt coordination.
Season 1 of the animated series Stranger Things: Tales from ’85 was also eligible at the 2026 Emmys but didn’t receive any nominations. Netflix’s ‘toon spin-off has been renewed for a second season.
