Some fans have accused the Stranger Things creators of using ChatGPT to help create the fifth and final season of the show.
The Netflix series came to an end with its two-hour finale episode premiering on New Year’s Eve, in which the evil Vecna (Jamie Campbell Bower) was defeated, and Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown) seemingly sacrificed herself to keep her friends safe. The episode’s coda saw Mike (Finn Wolfhard) sharing a theory that she had faked her death, and that he believed she was somewhere safe.
The climax was not universally loved by devotees to the show, with some left disappointed by the ambiguity of Eleven’s fate. Others subscribed to the now-debunked ‘Conformity Gate’ theory, which speculated that a surprise ninth episode was in the works to undo some of the revelations of the finale.
A documentary taking fans behind the scenes of the making of season five, titled One Last Adventure: The Making Of Stranger Things 5, has now been released onto Netflix, and one particular shot of the Duffer brothers working on the script of the show has led to some speculative sleuthing online.
A screenshot of one of their laptops has been spread on X, with some suggesting that it shows they had a ChatGPT tab open while discussing the plot. “Duffer Brothers really used chatgpt for this script? WTF,” wrote one person.
Duffer Brothers really used chatgpt for this script? WTF 😡😡 pic.twitter.com/f2fyOZ7zWa
— Vicky Shinde (@iamshinde83) January 12, 2026
the duffer brothers deadass using chatgpt for s5 script omfgnnmhgxxxv pic.twitter.com/jeAvt2VYXF
— Eri (@aeuphroic) January 12, 2026
how many chatgpt tabs did the duffers have open? pic.twitter.com/WCFESSGT2l
— Hazel ✶⋆.˚ (@y0usaidyes) January 12, 2026
The Duffer Brothers were literally using ChatGPT and Reddit while writing this season & particularly the finale of Stranger Things.
No wonder it's complete 🐶💩! pic.twitter.com/HQuhJIIXub
— Alfred J. Vickers III (@alfredjviii) January 12, 2026
The Duffer Bros used ChatGPT, lied about cutting scenes, started production before finishing writing the finale, and they purposefully ignored the other writers trying to help them or offering suggestions. I don’t think we’re hating them enough actually. #StrangerThings5 pic.twitter.com/zQx12DouFA
— sƃǝɯ ➃ MET JOSEPH QUINN • fred hechinger ceo (@fredhechinger) January 12, 2026
Others have doubted whether the tab in question actually shows the ChatGPT logo, while others have pointed out that the scene showing the writing sessions was likely from three years ago, and so before the rise to prominence of the AI chatbot.
In the days after the finale aired, the Duffer brothers responded to fan criticism and admitted that they wished they hadn’t done any interviews trying to explain the episode.
“I really shouldn’t have done any of these postmortem interviews,” Matt Duffer said. “I am not in a good place. Like, why the hell did we do any of them yesterday is beyond me. I’m, like, fried. I was getting over the flu. So, anyone mad at any answers we gave you yesterday, just cut me some slack.”
The final episode also made waves musically, with streams of Prince’s ‘Purple Rain’ and ‘When Doves Cry’ more than doubling on Spotify after their inclusion in the episode. Iron Maiden have since celebrated their track ‘The Trooper’ being included, while David Bowie’s ‘Heroes’ also saw a huge streaming surge.
There are two Stranger Things spinoffs now in the works: a live-action show that will explore “new characters and a new mythology”, and an animated show titled Stranger Things: Tales From ‘85, which will be out this year.