The CHS Class of 2026 has grown up alongside Mike, Dustin, Lucas, Will, and Eleven—the band of 1980s outcasted kids whose daring adventures have drawn massive audiences for Netflix’s hit show Stranger Things. When the series premiered in 2016, the Class of 2026 was entering third grade. Although the actors and their on-screen counterparts were a few years older than this generation, it was easy for young viewers to identify with the bickering, inside jokes, and emotional beats that accompanied the adolescent characters’ attempts to repel monsters from their home town of Hawkins. 

The familiarity of these on-screen characters—despite their otherworldly exploits—led young audiences to develop strong parasocial relationships with the troupe of Hawkins tweens. And as the actors and their characters have grown, so have their viewers. The shared experience of formative years, combined with the show’s global popularity, has elevated Stranger Things to a generation-defining phenomenon. 

Now, with Stranger Things preparing to release the final four episodes of its fifth and final season this December, audiences are feeling nostalgic, and none more so than the CHS Class of 2026. The close of this cultural touchstone seems to mirror the end of the Class of ‘26’s own time at Cranford Public Schools. “It feels like we grew up with the characters, and it’s near perfect to end our time at Cranford High School at the same time as we wrap up our adventures in Hawkins,” says Joshua Ashinoff, a current senior. 

Although CHS seniors will have a few more months in the high school after Stranger Things’ New Year’s Eve resolution, the series’s end marks a significant step towards the departure from adolescence for the Class of ‘26. Those same elementary school kids who watched Will Byers flee from the feared Demogorgon back in 2016 will now, as seniors, watch with the same wonder as our gang of familiar heroes confront evil in one last adventure.