Just in time for Thanksgiving, Stranger Things returned to screens around the world on Wednesday with the long-awaited first portion of its final season.
But Netflix didn’t stop at a traditional premiere. To mark the beginning of the show’s last chapter, the streaming giant added an immersive, real-world Easter egg straight to fans’ phones.
Season 5 opens with episode 1, titled Chapter One: The Crawl, set in November 1987. The story picks up roughly 18 months after the catastrophic Rifts incident left Hawkins, Indiana, sealed off under military lockdown following the dramatic eruption of the Upside Down at the end of season 4. The town now sits in crisis as officials race to regain control – and search for its most powerful missing resident.
The Hidden Phone Number Fans Can Actually Call
Early in the premiere, as Hawkins High School is shown covered in posters and military warnings, a missing teen flyer appears on the wall. The poster features a phone number connected to the ongoing search for Eleven, played by Millie Bobby Brown.
Entertainment Weekly dialed the number shortly after the episode dropped – and discovered Netflix was hiding a fully functional message for viewers, according to Newsweek.
The cast of Stranger Things at the season 5 premiere. Credit: Michael Buckner / Getty Images.
Calling the Indiana-based number triggers a recorded dispatch from an unidentified Hawkins official. The message begins with a familiar greeting: “Thank you for contacting the Hawkins Police Department,” followed by the sound of frantic typing in the background.
The voice goes on to explain that Hawkins remains under strict lockdown after a recent 7.4 magnitude earthquake, reinforcing the in-universe upheaval that sets the stage for the final season. It also confirms the growing manhunt at the center of the plot.
“The Hawkins Emergency Task Force is working closely with the Hawkins PD to track down missing persons, of which Jane Hopper is a priority,” the voice says, using Eleven’s legal name introduced earlier in the episode. Before disconnecting, callers are urged to assist in the search as “responsible citizens of Hawkins.”
Final Battle Approaches
The new season begins with Eleven still living off the grid, secretly training with her adoptive father, Hopper (David Harbour), and Joyce Byers (Winona Ryder).
Having finally regained her telekinetic abilities at the end of season 4, Eleven is preparing for the threats still spreading from the Upside Down – even as the world believes she has vanished.
According to co-creator Ross Duffer, the action only escalates from here. In a recent interview, he told EW that the remaining episodes in this two-part finale will significantly raise the stakes, pushing the series to its biggest scale yet. “It does not scale down,” Duffer said, explaining the extended production timeline and massive scope of the story’s endgame.
The first half of Stranger Things season 5 is now streaming on Netflix. The second batch of episodes arrives December 25, setting the stage for the series finale, which drops on New Year’s Eve. Fans now have a month of theories, clues, and hidden phone calls to dissect before Hawkins’ story comes to its final close.