Internet sleuths desperate for Stranger Things scoops just hit a dead end. The viral theory that Matt and Ross Duffer relied on ChatGPT to write the show’s final season has been flatly denied by the director of Netflix’s behind-the-scenes documentary
The rumor mill kicked into high gear following the release of One Last Adventure: The Making of Stranger Things 5, which offered fans a rare look inside the writers’ room. Eagle-eyed viewers paused footage showing a laptop with multiple tabs open, though the on-screen content was unclear.
In the vacuum of concrete information, speculation ran wild. A segment of the fanbase became convinced the tabs showed ChatGPT in use, fueling claims that generative AI was involved in scripting the final chapter of Stranger Things.
The Reality Check
The theory didn’t hold up under scrutiny. In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, documentary director Martina Radwan dismissed the accusation outright.
“How can you possibly write a storyline with 19 characters and use ChatGPT? I don’t even understand,” Radwan said, pushing back on the idea that AI could manage a narrative of that scale.
She also noted that there is no proof that an AI tool was ever open, explaining that multitasking during creative work can easily be misread. “Nobody has actually proved that it was open,” she added, comparing the assumption to spotting a phone near a computer and jumping to conclusions.
Radwan further clarified that a writers’ room is not a constant typing session, but a space for discussion and story development—making the leap to AI-assisted writing even more misplaced.
What the Screenshot Actually Shows
Clearer images circulating alongside the viral posts reveal a far less sensational explanation. The visible tabs are Google Docs files labeled 506, 507, and 508, consistent with episode numbering. The circular icon some mistook for an AI indicator is Chrome’s “Memory Saver” feature, which appears on inactive tabs to reduce system load.
In other words, what looked “suspicious” at first glance was simply normal browser behavior—not evidence of AI-generated scripts.
Fandom Scrutiny vs. Facts
The incident underscores how intense the scrutiny around the final season has become. As Stranger Things nears its conclusion, even routine production details are being dissected frame by frame, often faster than facts can catch up.
For now, one thing is clear: there is no evidence ChatGPT played any role in writing Season 5. The final chapter of Hawkins was developed through traditional writers’ room collaboration—by humans, not algorithms.
Meet Manish Chandra Srivastava, the Strategic Content Architect & Marketing Guru who turns brands into legends. Armed with a Marketer's Soul, Manish has dazzled giants like Collegedunia and Embibe before becoming a part of MobileAppDaily. His work is spotlighted on Hackernoon, Gamasutra, and Elearning Industry.
Beyond the writer’s block, Manish is often found distracted by movies, video games, artificial intelligence (AI), and other such nerdy stuff. But the point remains, if you need your brand to shine, Manish is who you need.
