Stranger Things Season 5 backlash has been going strong since the finale came out at the end of December. Astute fans of the show thought they had now spotted the reason hiding in plain sight.
A new Netflix documentary titled One Last Adventure, released Jan 12, 2026, featured a behind-the-scenes look at the show’s final season.
Fans zoomed in and jumped to conclusions
Folks honed in on one particular clip online, which appeared to show Reddit and ChatGPT tabs open on the Duffer Brothers’ computers while they worked on the script.
However, the images are quite blurry and hard to really tell what’s being shown.
One tab of about a dozen appeared to show the Reddit logo, and fans quickly ran with it. “Duffer Brothers had a Reddit tab open while writing the Stranger Things 5 ending,” a popular Stranger Things meme account on X wrote.
Soon after, others claimed they saw ChatGPT icons on other open tabs. The running (unfounded) theory claimed that the showrunners were pulling fan theories from Reddit to write their scripts.
At the time of publishing, the Daily Dot could not confirm any ChatGPT tabs open in the documentary, though Reddit, Zillow, eBay, YouTube, and many other common websites are clearly seen.
Naturally, reactions to the Reddit and AI accusations poured in. X user @byler1989 wrote, “the duffers caught with NOT ONE! NOT TWO! BUT THREE! chatgpt tabs open, as well as a reddit tab open while writing s5,” while sharing screenshots from the documentary.
Meanwhile, @byersanswer asked, “is that a f*ckin chatgpt tab i see.”
Some users reacted with sarcasm instead of outrage. “I’m not sure I’d say Reddit is the thing to worry about here,” @MiwiTheClerWise wrote alongside a zoomed-in image.
Still, others sounded convinced. @ashotmagazine said, “The Duffer Brothers had three ChatGPT tabs and one Reddit tab open while writing the ending of ‘STRANGER THINGS.’”
“The Duffer Brothers were literally using ChatGPT and Reddit while writing this season & particularly the finale of Stranger Things,” @alfredjviii noted. “No wonder it’s complete 🐶💩!”
@thatboyonfire4 It think some producer at Netflix might hate the duffer brothers #strangerthings #dufferbrothers #strangerthings5 #comformitygate #netflix ♬ Gymnopédie No.1 / Erik Satie(884659) – BPProject
Not everyone bought the ChatGPT theory
However, the evidence of the pair using ChatGPT in their scriptwriting was shaky at best, with blurry footage of their computer screens. While the Reddit tab looked fairly clear, the other icons weren’t distinct enough to be noticeably one website or another. Because of that, some fans pushed back against the AI panic.
Several viewers suggested alternative explanations. Instead of ChatGPT, they suggested, the tabs could have shown WriterSolo or a standard Google Chrome page. Others noticed a Zillow tab and cracked jokes. One person quipped, “They’re moving the [expletive] away from that set.”
X user @wuhuislander added, “As much as this would have been really funny, it’s not a ChatGPT tab.” Meanwhile, defenders pointed out that chatbots weren’t exactly advanced when the finale was written.
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