About

Derek Turnbow is a character from Stranger Things introduced in season five and played by actor Jake Connelly. Turnbow, who is also known by the nicknames "Dipshit Derek" and "Delightful Derek," is portrayed as a spoiled, unkind child with very little filter who often offends people with his remarks. Turnbow became a fan favorite character in the show's fifth season upon the release of part one in late November 2025, inspiring memes on social media, including edits on TikTok.

Origin

The character Derek Turnbow was first teased as being a part of the fifth season of Stranger Things during the show's rollout. The character's reveal was met with confusion from some.

For example, on November 5th, 2025, TikToker^[1] @khan_btw posted a video reacting to the release of a character poster for Turnbow. In the video, he criticizes the character, hypothesizing about what his role in the show might be, garnering over 6.2 million views in a month.

On November 26th, 2025, the first four episodes of Stranger Things season five premiered on Netflix. Turnbow is introduced in the first episode of Stranger Things season five as a major protagonist in the season.

Spread

After the release of the first set of episodes of Stranger Things season five, Derek Turnbow became the subject of memes as viewers became fans of his character.

On November 27th, 2025, TikToker^[2] @khan_btw posted an edit of Derek Turnbow clips interjected with reaction images, garnering over 4.3 million views in five days.

On November 28th, X^[3] user @mikuwheeler posted side-by-side images of Turnbow and an LGBTQ+ flag, writing, "🚨 Derek Turnbow donates $10,000 to the LGBTQIA+ community. 'I was jumped by one' the young boy stated," garnering over 47,000 likes and 4,500 reposts in four days.

On November 30th, TikToker^[4] @jahamez605 posted a meme about Turnbow turning his hate base into a fanbase in only two episodes, garnering over 500,000 views in two days.

On December 1st, 2025, TikToker^[5] @false9films posted a reaction meme about Turnbow getting "slimed out" in the show, playing into the fan theory that Turnbow will be killed at some point in the season, garnering over 1.2 million views in a day.

Various Examples

Search Interest

External References