Stranger Things 5, the hotly anticipated final season of the acclaimed sci-fi series, has made an unprecedented debut on Netflix, dramatically turning streaming charts "Upside Down" worldwide. This final installment has reaffirmed the show's status as not just one of the biggest shows currently on streaming, but one of the most popular shows of all time.

In its first week, or first five days of streaming, the initial part of Season 5 garnered over 59.6 million views. This remarkable figure positions it as the second-biggest TV series season debut in Netflix history, trailing only behind "Squid Game Season 2". Furthermore, this achievement marks the best premiere-week viewership an English-language Netflix series has ever recorded, surpassing previous records set by other popular titles.

The debut of "Stranger Things 5" represents a massive increase in viewership compared to its predecessor, Season 4. While Season 4 opened with approximately 22 million views (calculated from 287 million hours watched over three days), Season 5's debut in five days shows an astounding increase of about 171%. The immense anticipation surrounding the new season was evident even before its release, as all four previous seasons of "Stranger Things" made it onto the Netflix Top 10 list, a first for any series. During the week of Nov. 24-30, Season 5 soared to the No. 1 spot, followed by Season 1 at No. 3 (8.9 million views), Season 4 at No. 5 (6.1 million views), Season 2 at No. 6 (5.6 million views), and Season 3 at No. 8 (4.6 million views), demonstrating the comprehensive popularity of the entire franchise.

Globally, "Stranger Things 5" achieved near-perfect dominance. It secured the top spot on streaming charts in 91 out of 93 countries where Netflix is available, resulting in an impressive 98% success rate. The only two exceptions were South Korea, where "Taxi Driver" was most-watched, and Japan, which favored "One Punch Man". This widespread international appeal solidifies the Duffer Brothers' creation as a truly global phenomenon.

Despite its immense popularity and record-breaking viewership, the critical reception for the first part of "Stranger Things 5" has been notably reviewed. On the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, Season 5 currently holds critics' and audience scores of 84% and 85% respectively. While these are still wonderfully positive ratings, they represent the lowest scores for the entire series. Robert Brian Taylor, in his 8/10 review, commented, "These four episodes make a statement that the Duffers are ending their series on their own terms, even while they serve as a culmination of everything that has come before."

With only the first four episodes having debuted, and an additional three episodes scheduled for release on Christmas Day, followed by the series finale on New Year's Eve, "Stranger Things 5" is expected to maintain its strong presence on the charts for weeks, if not months. Given the performance of Season 4, which ranks as the No. 3 most popular English-language TV title of all time on Netflix with 140.7 million views in its first 91 days, Season 5 is almost certainly poised to end up on Netflix’s prestigious list of most popular titles, further cementing its legacy.