USA TODAY Hear this story Nearly a decade has passed since Netflix turned our world upside down by releasing " Stranger Things ." But in the fictional and hazardous town of Hawkins, Indiana, only a few years have passed. While stars Finn Wolfhard and Caleb McLaughlin have grown up since the 2016 premiere , the characters they portray have yet to finish high school in Season 5 despite experiencing a lifetime's worth of trauma. Millie Bobby Brown and her character, Eleven , were both 12 years old during the filming and events of Season 1. Now, the actress is a 21-year-old wife and mother, while the telekinetic heroine on TV is still 16 in the new season, according to the Stranger Things wiki page . The fifth and final season takes place four years after the events of Season 1, which occurred in November 1983. With the first four episodes of the sci-fi juggernaut now available to stream on Netflix , here's a breakdown of how the characters' and cast ages differ from November 1987 and November 2025 , respectively. Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown) Source: https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/tv/2025/11/27/stranger-things-season-5-actors-characters-ages/87490380007/