‘Stranger Things 5’ is wrapped up. Judging by the cast and crew tributes, we’re not ready

(CNN) — It’s hard to believe that it’s been over eight years since viewers were first introduced to the mysterious and thrilling retro show “Stranger Things,” and even harder to believe that it’s all coming to an end soon.

Some of the cast and crew of the megahit Netflix series announced Friday that this week marked the end of production on Season 5 of the series, set to debut sometime next year.

Noah Schnapp, who plays Will Byers on “Stranger Things” and was the first to experience the spooky “Upside Down” in Hawkins, Indiana back in Season 1, wrote a tribute on Instagram.

“As I close this chapter of my life, I can’t help but be eternally grateful for the incredible people I’ve met and valuable life/career lessons I’ve learned through this decade of journey,” Schnapp wrote, continuing to list his “top 10” along with a carousel of nostalgic photos from the series’ early days.

Among Schnapp’s list were nods to “Stranger Things” creators the Duffer Brothers, who he said taught him “the creative process takes time, and it’s okay to be careful about creating perfect moments.”

On his own Instagram, co-creator Ross Duffer wrote about how they’ve been “telling this story for almost a decade now. Many of our cast members joined us when they were kids, just ten or eleven years old. It wasn’t just a show for them—it was a vital part of their childhood. They have grown up before our eyes and have become more than actors – they have become family.”

Another contributor to mark moment on social media was Finn Wolfhard, who plays Will’s best friend Mike Wheeler on the show. Sharing a photo of himself with his co-stars as youngsters from the first season, Wolfhard wrote that he is “still in shock” that his work on the final season is coming to an end.

“We shot it for a year, and I’m going to miss all my friends and our characters terribly. When I think of the show, I picture this first image. A bunch of goofy young people doing something they think is cool, but who really has no idea what’s coming,” Wolfhard wrote. “I feel like we’re still those people and I’m lucky to still be standing next to them today. I hope you’ll love this season as much as I do. See you all next year.”

Schnapp ended his tribute on a heartfelt note of gratitude, writing: “‘Stranger Things’ was more than a job; it was a lifelong dream. A dream come true thanks to the Duffers. Thank you for taking a chance on me when I was only a 10 year old kid and entrusted me with something so important to you both.Together this cast + crew have built something so very special and I couldn’t be more excited for the world to see the final chapter.Stranger Things is a never-ending story for me – it’s in my heart forever.”

“Stranger Things” is a dark sci-fi/horror series that follows a group of teenagers and their families as they face an unnamed evil lurking in a mirror dimension – known as “Up and Down” – beneath their small town. As of 2016, the show has run for four seasons and stars Winona Ryder, David Harbor, and Millie Bobby Brown. Along the way, the series welcomed some brilliant additional cast members, all of whom became breakout stars, including Sadie Sink, Priah Ferguson, Joseph Quinn and Maya Hawke.

The series has won 12 Primetime Emmys so far, and introduced us to the terrifying Vecna ​​(Jamie Campbell Bower) in 2022’s Season 4. Netflix has yet to announce a specific date for the premiere of Season 5, other than noting that it will be sometime next time. year.