Stranger Things' Joe Keery suggested David Bowie’s "Heroes" for series finale

5 January 2026, 09:50 | Updated: 5 January 2026, 10:42

Stranger Things star Joe Keery, Stranger Things s5 poster, David Bowie performs Heroes on Bing Crosby's Merrie Olde Christmas. Picture: Karwai Tang/WireImage/Getty, Netflix, TV Times via Getty Images

The actor and musician - who played Steve Harrington in the hit series - put forward the idea of the iconic Bowie track featuring in the show's ending.

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Joe Keery was behind the decision to feature David Bowie's "Heroes" at the end of Stranger Things.

The much-loved Netflix series came to an end this year, after a dramatic three-volume final season, which reached its conclusion on New Year's Day 2026.

It's last episode was ushered out by the iconic 1977 Bowie track, while drawings of the main cast of the show flashed up on screen.

It turns out that Keery - who played Steve Harrington in the hit sci-fi show and and releases music under the alias Djo - is responsible for "Heroes" being the show's final track, suggesting the idea to its creators The Duffer Brothers.

“It was actually Joe Keery who suggested that we do the Bowie version,” Ross Duffer told Netflix's Tudum.“Once Joe said that, we immediately knew that was the right song to end the show on because it is, in some ways, an anthem for Stranger Things. To use the original Bowie version just felt fitting for the conclusion.”

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David Bowie's official Instagram account reflected the news with a post which showcased outtakes from the icon's Heroes album cover.

It included in the caption: "New Year’s Day saw the broadcast on Netflix of the final episode of the phenomenally successful and critically lauded Stranger Things. Ten years in the making, the final song of the entire series is "Heroes" by David Bowie, one of music’s boldest innovators and most enduring visionaries.

"After the final scene of Series 5 Episode 8 plays, the show doesn’t jump to its typical credits sequence. Instead, it rolls into a nostalgic animated end-credits segment and lets Bowie’s “Heroes” play all the way through."

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Stranger Things may have finally wrapped up for good, but there's at least one castmember who would probably consider a sixth if the money was right.

Quizzed by Radio X's Johnny Vaughan if this was really 'it', stars Finn Wolfhard, Gaten Matarazzo, Caleb McLaughlin and Noah Schnapp - who play Mike Wheeler, Dustin Henderson, Lucas Sinclair and Will Byers in the show - said: "Yes".

However, when asked what the outcome would be if they backed up the money truck, McLaughlin joked: "Oh, well, of course! I mean, with these guys? We've been making money together for a long time."