The Netflix series fans say is better than Stranger Things

The final episode of the fifth and final season of Stranger Things is set to air on New Year’s Day (Thursday, January 1, 2026) in the UK.

This will bring to an end the sci-fi series, which has run for more than nine years, having debuted on Netflix back in July 2016.

Fans are eagerly awaiting to see how the Duffer Brothers will conclude the popular franchise, and whether the show’s heroes, including El, Will, Hopper, Mike, Dustin, and Steve, can stop Vecna’s evil plan.

The final episode comes after parts one and two of Stranger Things, season five, were previously released on November 27 and December 26, respectively, with mixed reviews.

Chapter 4: Sorcerer earned the third-highest rating of any Stranger Things episode on IMDb – 9.4 out of 10.

But Chapter 7: The Bridge received the lowest score (5.4) out of any episode in Stranger Things history, even lower than The Lost Sister from series two (which scored 6).

Series five has also (so far) recorded the lowest score (84%) of them all on Rotten Tomatoes.

The Netflix series that’s better than Stranger Things

Despite all the hype around Stranger Things, users on Reddit believe there is another Netflix series that is better, that could fill the void left by the conclusion of season five.

Dark is a German thriller that first aired on Netflix in 2017.

The synopsis of the series on Netflix reads: “A missing child sets four families on a frantic hunt for answers as they unearth a mind-bending mystery that spans three generations.”

Dark consists of three seasons (10 episodes in the first, and eight in the final two) and has been described by fans as the “best TV show possibly ever”.

Is Dark worth watching?

Dark is considered well worth a watch by TV critics and viewers alike.

It has an overall rating of 95% on Rotten Tomatoes, with series two scoring a perfect 100% (S1 – 90% and S2 – 97%).

While over on IMDb, it has an 8.7 rating (from more than 520,000 reviews).

Viewers have also sung the praises of Dark.

One person on the Reddit group r/tvshow recently posted: “Is Dark worth a watch? I hear it’s better than Stranger Things.”

Fans of the show were quick to point out that “it is better than Stranger Things”.

One Reddit user posted: “It’s one of the best shows to exist.”

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Another added: “Personally I think it’s one of the best things ever made for TV. Best watched in the original German with subtitles though.”

A third fan replied: “Absolutely. And yes, it’s definitely better than Stranger Things.”

While this person commented: “If you love mind bending, time twisting plots and reveals then it’s among the best of 2010s TV shows. Haven’t come across a show that matches that since.”