Luckily, the wait is nearly over. The two-hour series finale of Stranger Things will release on December 31 at 8 p.m. ET on Netflix. The episode will also be released in select theaters on December 31 and January 1, so be sure to check out local showtimes if you want to experience the Upside Down on the big screen.

When first announced back in October, the Stranger Things finale was playing on 350 US screens. That number expanded to more than 500 when ticket sales opened in early December. And as the big day approaches, that number is rising to 620+ due to public demand.

The final season of "Stranger Things" sparks heated debate as Netflix show's audience rating drops to 56% on Rotten Tomatoes amid mixed fan reactions to storyline choices.

The audience score for "Stranger Things" Season 5 has taken a sharp downturn, following the Dec. 25 release of the season's Vol. 2 episodes.

Get ready to say goodbye to 'Stranger Things' with our guide to the premiere of the series finale, including the date, time plot and more

In an interview with Deadline, Ross Duffer shared, "The goal is to tie up, you know, the remaining loose ends and sort of answering any questions that remain, and there are a few, specifically big ones being with, you know, Henry and his backstory and then Eleven and what all this means for her and Kali."

With an 84% critics’ score, Stranger Things Season 5 is the series’s lowest-rated season on Rotten Tomatoes. The highest-rated season, per Rotten Tomatoes, is Season 1 (97%), followed by Season 2 (94%), Season 4 (90%), Season 3 (89%) and then Season 5 (84%). The Stranger Things series finale debuts on Netflix and in select theaters on Dec. 31.

A viral fan-led petition calling on Netflix and the Duffer brothers to release alleged cut scenes from Stranger Things Season 5 has gained over 300,000 signatures in a matter of days, as speculation swirls around what supporters on social media are calling "cutgate."