WEBDESK: Netflix experienced a brief disruption on New Year’s Eve as the finale of the hit series Stranger Things generated huge attention around the world, with many viewers complaining of problems playing the show shortly after the last episode of the series went online.
The episode debuted globally at 5 p.m. PT on New Year’s Eve, which will mark the end of the Duffer Brothers hit sci-fi drama. Minutes after it rolled out, some people couldn’t stream the episode and were showed some kind of error notification, suggesting the platform is choked temporarily by the traffic.
Social media platforms, especially X, were quickly being flooded with reactions from frustrated fans. Several viewers reported that they had stayed awake deep into the wee hours just to see the end, and then were greeted by troubles with the streaming site. Others voiced anger that the outage came right on the window for the release of the episode.
The interruption, however, was only temporary. Reports say normal service was resumed within minutes for most users. Netflix did not write on its blog a public explanation right away, although that company has admitted to a similar kind of incidents in the past that were linked to unusually high demand.
This was not the first time the show experienced a technical hiccup related to its final season. A similar outage was present in late November when the volume 1 of season five became available. At the time, Netflix blamed troubles with some television devices and stated the matter was quickly fixed.
The final installment of Stranger Things ended up being released in batches over the course of a month. The first volume came in late November, and a second volume was released on Christmas Day. The final episode aired on December 31 and also being shown at select theaters.
