Posted in: NBC, Netflix, Peacock, TV | Tagged: macy's thanksgiving day parade, stranger things 5

Stranger Things 5 Set for Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade: A Preview

NBC's 99th Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade will be taking a detour through the Upside Down with a float from Netflix's Stranger Things 5.

NBC, Peacock, and Telemundo's airing/streaming of the 99th Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade is going to have an impressive run of new and returning floats and balloons. You can add Netflix and Matt & Ross Duffer's Stranger Things 5 to that list, with the global phenomenon set to have float ready to go a day after the first volume of the final season drops. "The Duffer brothers have been on it the whole time," shared Brendan Kennedy, director of creative production at Macy's studio. "This is such a cool departure from saying, 'Hey, 3D print me something from a film.' What we're doing here is creating a world. This is fully experiential."

Spotlighting the Hawkins National Laboratory, Kennedy shared some of what viewers can expect. "There's a containment device meant to contain an eight and a half foot tall Demogorgon puppet. That size is really in the wheelhouse of parade and continuing the legacy of Tony Sarg's puppetry in the parade," he revealed. The float will include lighting and smoke effects, with easter eggs from the series throughout. Viewers can also look forward to the band Foreigner performing on 34th Street.

Previously, the streaming service rolled out a preview of the Derpy Tiger (full-size) and Sussie (balloonicle) balloons representing KPop Demon Hunters, which will be part of the hit streaming film's float. Ejae, Audrey Nuna, and Rei Ami, the singing voices behind the fictional K-pop group Huntr/X, will be performing and aboard the float during the parade's run.

Here's a look at the KPop Demon Hunters balloon being inflated and officially revealed, followed by a look at some other familiar faces we're going to see along the parade route:

Last month, Nintendo of America and Macy's announced that a new Mario featured character balloon would make its debut, releasing a 3D model rendering of the new balloon. Set to honor the 40th anniversary of the original Super Mario Bros. game, which first launched in Japan in 1985, the balloon was created by Macy's Parade Studio's team of artists in partnership with Nintendo of America. Clad in his classic blue overalls and signature red cap and striking a flying pose inspired by the game Super Mario Galaxy, Mario comes in at 51-feet and 2-inches long, 37-feet wide, and 43-feet and 8-inches tall.

Over the summer, during Destination Disney, it was announced that the Buzz Lightyear balloon would be back in a very big way to represent the 30th anniversary of Pixar's first Toy Story. Here's a look at the announcement that went out back in August.

In 2024, the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade was the top show of the holiday season and delivered its biggest audience on record with 31.7 million total viewers across NBC and Peacock—that's an 11% increase compared to 2023. This makes 2024 the fourth year in a row that the parade was the most-watched entertainment show on linear. In addition, the 2024 parade was the top Spanish-language TV program in its timeslot on Telemundo for the third consecutive year. As for the Macy's 4th of July Fireworks, the live 2024 special drew 7.6 million viewers across all platforms – marking a three-year ratings high.

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