This year sees an abundance of Netflix original shows meeting their end, for a number of reasons. Controversies can easily bring a show to its knees, as seen with The Sandman, which will be canceled after its upcoming second season due to the sexual assault allegations surrounding creator Neil Gaiman. Or a show might just be coming to a natural close, as with Stranger Things, which will end after its fifth season because creators Matt and Ross Duffer want to give it “an epic conclusion.”
Whatever the reason, Netflix is saying goodbye to a significant lineup in 2025, from long-running fan favorites to newer titles that never quite found their footing.
Squid Game
The saga of giant motion-sensing dolls, deadly obstacle courses, and intense competitions pitting South Korea’s most desperate against each other is coming to an end. Squid Game will see its third and final season on June 27, concluding four years of audiences wondering if Player 456 Seong Gi-hun (Lee Jung-jae) can take down the games, if Detective Hwang Jun-Ho (Wi Ha-joon) will ever come to terms with his older brother being the evil Front Man (Lee Byung-hun), and if Seong Gi-hun really should have dyed his hair bright red that one time.
Stranger Things
The children of Stranger Things are all grown up now, and they’re ready to finally kick out the bone-crushing, noseless Vecna from Hawkins once and for all. While little is known about the fifth and final season’s plot, the Duffer brothers have confirmed that there will be a time jump from the end of the last season, when the Hawkins gang was reeling from Vecna tearing open a giant metaphysical gate to the Upside Down. “This season – it’s like season 1 on steroids,” Matt Duffer told The Guardian in December 2023. As of writing, the release date for Stranger Things Season 5 has yet to be announced.
The Sandman
It’s a pity that this dreamy, hallucinogenic-worthy series adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s graphic novel was abruptly cut short following the sexual assault allegations against the writer. While the show’s first season offered viewers an experimental, psychedelic take on the story of the Sandman (Tom Sturridge), a cosmic being who was held captive for more than a century by occultish magicians, Netflix has said little about what source material it will be pulling from for the show’s second season.
Big Mouth
After eight seasons of horny jokes, sex-inspired musical numbers, and a surprisingly authentic take on serious topics like depression and divorce, Big Mouth is finally coming to an end. “It’s the end of a very gross era,” laments the hormone monster Maury (Nick Kroll) in one of the final season’s many fourth wall-breaking moments, and perhaps it’s just as well: the world only needs so many bits about dicks.
Outer Banks
The sun is about to set on the North Carolina coast as Outer Banks gears up for its fifth and final season. While this last chapter will have to deal with the mammoth task of picking up the pieces from its fourth season (including an unplanned pregnancy and a shocking murder), fans are already feeling the bittersweet sting of saying goodbye to the Pogues.
