Stranger Things creators studied great TV finales for Season 5 inspiration

The Duffers have also apparently known what the end scene was for years.

It feels almost surreal considering the show has been around for just under a decade, but in the coming months Stranger Things reaches the end of its run. Season 5's finale will be one of the most anticipated events in TV history, and the Duffer brothers know the pressure is high.

And so, when scripting the final season, the Duffer brothers and writers looked to other successful show endings. Six Feet Under, The Sopranos, and Friday Night Lights were all taken into account. "The best ones were very true to themselves," Ross Duffer told Variety. "The shows that are trying to be super clever — I think that's where it can go wrong really quickly."

Matt Duffer did clarify that the ending has been in their heads for years. "We knew roughly what the end scene was for years — it wasn't something we had a strain to come up with. There were elements of it that were discussed for weeks, but the core idea of the ending, we had for a really long time."

While the Duffers remain happy, they're sure people will have opinions. They want the finale to wrap up everything in this Stranger Things story, and apparently we'll even find out what the Upside Down really is.