Joe Keery on Stranger Things’ End, Djo Tour, and a Decade as Steve Harrington

When Joe Keery stepped onto the set of Stranger Things in 2016, he was a 24-year-old actor with a handful of indie credits and a guitar in his dorm room. Ten years later, he’s wrapping up the most culturally defining TV show of the 2010s and 2020s—not just as Steve Harrington, the high school jock who became a dad figure to a group of kids fighting interdimensional monsters, but as Djo, the moody, synth-driven musician who just dropped his debut album, Happy Birthday, in June 2025. The final season of Stranger Things is rolling out in three acts: Volume 1 (episodes 1–4) premiered November 26, 2025, in the U.S., Volume 2 (episodes 5–7) drops Christmas Day, and the two-hour finale airs New Year’s Eve, 2025. Keery, now 33, says he’s still not sure how he feels about it all. "Whatever feelings I have about Stranger Things ending, it might not finally settle in for a month, a year, or even another decade," he told Esquire on November 28, 2025.

The Weight of a Decade on Screen

Keery didn’t expect to return for a second season. "I thought, Holy shit, we’re definitely getting a second season," he recalled in a November interview with Screen Rant Plus, laughing. "But I never imagined I’d be here for five." The show, set in the fictional town of Hawkins, Indiana, became a global phenomenon, turning its cast into household names and redefining 80s nostalgia for a new generation. Keery’s transformation from awkward, insecure Steve into the show’s emotional anchor—protective, loyal, quietly heroic—was central to its success. "After viewers saw him battle the demogorgon in the season 1 finale," Keery said, "I wasn’t Joe Keery anymore. I was Steve Harrington." Filming spanned nearly a decade, from 2016 to 2025, with most scenes shot in Atlanta, Georgia, and the surrounding suburbs. He remembers the brutal summer heat during the tower-climbing sequence in season 5, where he and Charlie Heaton (Jonathan Byers) were harnessed for safety, dangling over blacktop that felt like an oven. "You’re not allowed to climb it just for safety reasons," Keery said. "It was like summer. It was like on a blacktop in Atlanta."

Trapped in the Upside Down—And in Memory

Volume 1 ends with Steve alive but trapped in the Upside Down after his car crashes into a wall near the abandoned Hawkins Lab. According to Hindustan Times, he’s investigating Vecna’s plan to collapse reality, while the town has become a militarized zone. Netflix has kept the final two volumes tightly under wraps—Keery won’t even hint at what happens next. "Netflix has the details of the final chapter wrapped up tighter than an Avengers outing," he said. "I’m not about to ruin what fans have waited for since season 4 ended in July 2022." But the emotional weight of the finale isn’t just about plot. Keery’s favorite memory? An exhausted 4:30 a.m. shoot in a trailer park during season 4’s Upside Down sequence. "We were so tired, burnt out, delirious," he told Screen Rant Plus. "And then, out of nowhere, it hits you—wow, this is a pretty crazy situation."

Djo: The Music That Keeps Him Grounded

While Steve Harrington saved the world, Joe Keery quietly built a second career. His debut album, Happy Birthday, released in June 2025, blends indie rock, synth-pop, and lo-fi melancholy—echoing the show’s sonic palette but with a raw, personal edge. He recorded it between seasons, often in hotel rooms or late-night studios after filming wrapped. "I’ve always made music," he said in an ELLE interview in Dallas, Texas, while preparing for his Djo tour. "It’s my way of staying me." On stage, he’s not the stoic Steve. He’s goofy, self-deprecating, and disarmingly nerdy. "One of the young ladies said, ‘Wow, you guys are not how I expected you to be,’" he recalled. "And I think it was because we were just being silly. And kind of nerdy."

What Comes After Hawkins?

Keery isn’t planning a Hollywood pivot. He’s not chasing blockbuster roles or reality TV. He’s looking forward to quiet nights at home, maybe writing more music, maybe just reading. "It’s powerful to see your life on screen documented," he said. "Because I still feel the same way that I felt when I first started." The cast—Natalia Dyer (Nancy Wheeler), Charlie Heaton, Maya Hawke (Robin Buckley), and Jamie Campbell Bower (Vecna)—have all spoken of the bond forged over ten years. They’re not just co-stars. They’re family. "We grew up together," Dyer said in a recent interview. "And now we’re saying goodbye to the thing that made us who we are." Keery’s tour as Djo wraps in early January. After that, he plans to return to his apartment in New York, where he still keeps the original Stranger Things script from season 1. "I don’t know if I’ll ever watch it all the way through," he admitted. "But I’ll keep it. Just in case I need to remember who I was before the world knew me as Steve."

What’s Next for Joe Keery?

He’s not announcing new projects. No movie deals. No TV pilots. Just music. And silence. That’s the quiet rebellion of a man who spent a decade playing a hero—now choosing to be just himself.