January 02, 2026
Provided image/Netflix
A scene from the final episode of 'Stranger Things' referenced Philadelphia. Some fans think it's a hint about the planned spin-off.
Philadelphia got an unexpected shout-out in the series finale of "Stranger Things."
In the final 20 minutes of the super-sized episode, which debuted New Year's Eve, the Netflix series' four older kids gathered together on a rooftop. Nancy, Steve, Jonathan and Robin have grown up into young adults at this point, pursuing college educations and full-time jobs in different corners of the country. Admitting they all miss each other, they make a pact to meet up once a month, somewhere in between their homes in Massachusetts, New York and the fictional town of Hawkins, Indiana. After passing on Louisville, Kentucky — a suggestion not remotely in the middle — they land on a certain spot in Pennsylvania.
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"Philly?" Steve asks.
"Philly!" Robin agrees. "I have an uncle who lives in Philly. He's kinda weird, but he's got a really big house."
This plan naturally excited city residents, who shared their enthusiasm on social media with memes and jokes. The reference generated a Reddit discussion thread and a response from Visit Philly, which asked its followers on Threads to suggest places for the "Stranger Things" crew to visit.
i really can’t believe they mentioned philly in stranger things like we really are the center of the universe
— tricia. (@trishadelphia) January 1, 2026
AYEEEEEEEEEE PHILLY MENTION #StrangerThings5 pic.twitter.com/9DgpLFK1ox
— maddie | go birds 💚 (@mirrorball0717) January 1, 2026
@angmalino At peace knowing they’re somewhere nearby filming Jonathan’s movie
Some even suggested the show's forthcoming spin-off could be set in our fair city. "Strangers Things" creators Ross and Matt Duffer have offered few details about this new series, apart from the fact that it will feature new characters with a new story and setting — and explain the mysterious rock that Henry, aka Vecna, finds inside a briefcase in the series finale. But fans are theorizing that the Philly chatter points toward a story informed by the so-called Philadelphia Experiment, an unverified tale that's been circulating for decades.
In the 1950s, a man named Carl Allen claimed he had seen a U.S. Navy destroyer turn invisible, disappearing from the Philadelphia Navy Yard. It reappeared moments later, he said, after briefly teleporting to Norfolk, Virginia. Allen alleged the events were the result of top-secret experiments designed to defeat the Nazis in World War II. The incident in question supposedly occurred on Oct. 28, 1943, and involved the USS Eldridge.
The Navy refuted Allen's claims, insisting the destroyer wasn't in Philadelphia in the fall of 1943. But the story proved popular enough to generate a 1984 sci-fi film and, most tellingly, a "Stranger Things" play.
"Stranger Things: The First Shadow" is currently running on Broadway following a debut on London's West End. In its opening act, the play suggests the USS Eldridge was teleported to the Abyss, the dangerous alternate universe in "Stranger Things" where Vecna was born. That fits Philly pretty definitively into the show's mythology — though if the spin-off is traveling back to 1943, that's a bit early for Nancy, Jonathan, Steve and Robin's rendezvous.
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