Stranger Things Season 5's Rumored Budget Is One Of The Highest Ever For A TV Series

It's been more than three years since "Stranger Things" season 4 hit Netflix and more than six years since season 3 arrived.

via: Screen Rant

The budget for Stranger Things season 5 has reportedly been revealed. The fifth and final season of Netflix's sci-fi ratings juggernaut is set to drop its first volume on the streaming platform on November 26, and will see the group prepare for one final battle against Vecna, and the evil forces that have plagued Hawkins.

Stranger Things has been acclaimed as one of the greatest television series of all time, scooping multiple accolades during its run, and the climactic season is set to be even more epic than before. However, despite Stranger Things season 5 having a reduced episode count of eight episodes, down from nine in the previous season, it's not going to save Netflix any money.

According to Puck, the streamer spent $50 to $60 million per episode for the show's final season, putting its total price tag in the range of $400 to $480 million. This is up from season 4's reported budget of $30 million per episode.

The staggering figure illustrates the epic form that television has evolved into in recent times. The cost per episode is not quite enough to meet the likes of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power (a total $1 billion investment from Amazon) or the upcoming Harry Potter TV show (said to be on a similar scale as Game of Thrones and House of the Dragon's hefty price tags), it still makes it one of the most expensive seasons in TV history.

The full season cost of around $400 to $480 million is a total that eclipses the vast majority of movies being made. Jurassic World Dominion officially holds the budget for the most expensive movie ever made, with $465 million net, and even the Stranger Things episode budgets are more than some mid-budget movies.

The delay in release of Stranger Things season 5, as well as the reduced episode count, probably has a lot to do with the astronomical scale of the final episodes, but, from a narrative viewpoint, this is exciting news, and it promises a suitably epic and jaw-dropping final season, with what could be some of the most impressive set pieces ever committed to television.

Right now, Stranger Things has a pop culture legacy many franchises could only dream of, and season 5, if done successfully, will only cement this further. Whether Netflix will ever make a more expensive show remains to be seen as the era for big-budget television looks to be waning, but it will certainly cap off an era of blockbuster TV in a suitable way, once again elevating the creative ambition for streaming series.