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Saying goodbye is never easy, even if you’re a smalltown sheriff who battles demons from other dimensions.

In December 2024, Stranger Things wrapped filming, ending a long journey that began nearly a decade ago. For David Harbour, this was an emotional moment, as the series had been a part of his life since production began in 2015.  Harbour wasn’t needed for the last day of filming, but he couldn’t bare to miss the moment the series wrapped.

“On the last day of shooting it was a bunch of the kids, and I wasn’t shooting,” Harbour says during a panel at Tampa Bay Comic Convention. “I’ve got stuff to do, but I was, ‘Oh, I want to go.’ And I went, and it was pretty adorable, because one of the most beautiful things about the show is the kids all grew up on the show.”

“A lot of you, if you’re younger and like the show, you grew up with them. Or, you have kids that watch the show with you, and you’re like the parents with these kids. I feel that same sort of thing. So, I was there that final day. The amount of crying, it’s like when your kid graduates from college or whatever. The tears coming out of these children was pretty beautiful.”

Harbour clarified that we shouldn’t read too much into the fact that he wasn’t on the call sheet for the final day of filming. Most television shows film scenes out of order, so this doesn’t mean anything bad happens to Hopper (but it doesn’t eliminate the possibility either).

Stranger Things season five premieres November 26 on Netflix.

As we all collectively wait for Stranger Things season 5, here's the keys to getting ready:

• How to watch Stranger Things in chronological or release order
• Getting to know the Stranger Things season 5 cast
• There needs to be more death in Stranger Things, says co-star Gaten Matarazzo
• The Stranger Things time jump between season 4 and 5 has been confirmed by Netflix - and it raises some serious questions
• "They land the plane," David Harbour describes the Stranger Things finale, which he calls its "best episode"