What's Inside?
- The Stranger Things Season 5 documentary triggered online backlash after fans misidentified blurred browser tabs as alleged ChatGPT usage.
- Director Martina Radwan dismissed AI-writing claims, stressing creative collaboration, multitasking tools, and the lack of any concrete proof.
- Fan theories and finale disappointment fueled speculation, overshadowing the documentary’s intent to celebrate the show’s creative journey.
The final chapter of Stranger Things was always going to carry impossible expectations. After nearly a decade of cultural dominance, every frame now feels like evidence to fans searching for meaning, mistakes, or hidden agendas. That pressure intensified after the release of One Last Adventure: The Making of Stranger Things 5, a documentary meant to celebrate the journey. Instead, a blurry computer screen sparked online claims that artificial intelligence wrote the final season. What followed was less a debate and more a digital pile-on, driven by assumptions rather than facts, and fueled by disappointment that has little to do with how stories are actually made.
Stranger Things Documentary Sparks ChatGPT-Related Controversy
The controversy centers on a few seconds of footage showing the Duffer Brothers working on a laptop. Viewers zoomed in, circled browser tabs, and concluded that one of them looked like ChatGPT. From there, the leap was swift and unforgiving. The theory spread that generative AI helped write Stranger Things Season 5.
Martina Radwan, director of the documentary, pushed back on that narrative with clarity and restraint. Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, she questioned the certainty behind the claims.
“I mean, are we even sure they had ChatGPT open?”
Her skepticism reflects a larger issue with online discourse. Fans assumed intent without proof. A blurred icon became a verdict. Radwan addressed that rush to judgment head-on.
“Well, there’s a lot of chatter where [social media users] are like, ‘We don’t really know, but we’re assuming.’ But to me it’s like, doesn’t everybody have it open, to just do quick research? How can you possibly write a storyline with 19 characters and use ChatGPT, I don’t even understand.”
She also emphasized the lack of evidence.
“Again, first of all, nobody has actually proved that it was open.”
Stranger things season five brought to you by chatgpt pic.twitter.com/y1aI7kiLl9
— …. (@morbidsuns) January 12, 2026
Radwan compared the accusation to everyday multitasking.
“That’s like having your iPhone next to your computer while you’re writing a story. We just use these tools … while multitasking. So there’s a lot going on all the time, every time. What I find heartbreaking is everybody loves the show, and suddenly we need to pick it apart.”
Her words underline a painful shift. Celebration has turned into suspicion.
Stranger Things Writers Room Reality vs Fan Theories
Much of the outrage also stems from a misunderstanding of how television writing works. Critics imagine scripts typed line by line in silence. Radwan describes something far more human.
“No, of course not. I witnessed creative exchanges. I witnessed conversation. People think ‘writers room’ means people are sitting there writing. No, it’s a creative exchange. It’s story development. And, of course, you go places in your creative mind and then you come back [to the script]. I think being in the writers room is such a privilege and such a gift to be able to witness that.”
Despite this, online sleuths continue to dissect the documentary frame by frame. They analyze facial expressions. They revisit old interviews. They revive theories like secret episodes and hidden rewrites. The alleged ChatGPT tab became the most convenient symbol for frustration over an ending some viewers did not like.
The logic remains shaky. Using a popular online tool does not equal outsourcing creativity. AI exists everywhere now, from search engines to spellcheck. Assuming it authored an entire season because of a guessed icon ignores both evidence and process.
One Last Adventure was meant to honor Stranger Things. Instead, it revealed how quickly affection can turn into accusation. The show’s legacy deserves better than speculation dressed up as proof. Disliking a finale is fair. Rewriting reality to justify that dislike is not.
