2026 has been a big year for Netflix so far, especially with new feature film releases like The Rip (starring Matt Damon and Ben Affleck) and War Machine (starring Alan Ritchson). The streaming service has premiered new seasons of some of its biggest TV shows, like Bridgerton and One Piece, but this all came after the series finale of Stranger Things, which aired on New Year’s Day. Netflix even made the risky decision to put the Stranger Things series finale in theaters, but this paid off when the event grossed millions and sold out across the nation. This didn’t stop fans from picking apart the finale, though, with many viewers feeling that Netflix played it too safe when it came to wrapping up the story.
The story of Stranger Things is far from over, though. Not only have the Duffer brothers confirmed they’re developing a spin-off based on the rock that gave Henry Creel, aka Vecna, his powers, but there’s another spin-off that’s currently taking over the world. Last week, Netflix debuted all episodes of Stranger Things: Tales From ‘85, the animated spin-off set between the events of Stranger Things Seasons 2 and 3. The show has been met with a divisive reception thus far, leading to scores of 63% from critics and 54% from audiences on the aggregate site Rotten Tomatoes, but it isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. Netflix confirmed this afternoon that Stranger Things: Tales From ‘85 has been renewed for Season 2, but that’s not the whole of the news. The next batch of episodes will be released this Fall, before the end of the year, though it’s unclear what story Season 2 is going to tell.
What Is ‘Stranger Things: Tales From ‘85’ About?
The official synopsis for Stranger Things: Tales From ‘85 reads as follows:
“Stranger Things: Tales From ’85 is an animated series set in the winter of 1985, snow blankets the town, and the horrors of the Upside Down are finally fading. Our heroes Eleven, Mike, Will, Dustin, Lucas, and Max have settled back into a normal life of D&D, snowball fights, and quiet days. But beneath the ice, something terrifying has awakened. Could it be from the Upside Down? From the depths of Hawkins Lab? Or from somewhere else entirely? Our heroes must race to solve this mystery and save Hawkins in this new story set in the Stranger Things universe.”
No live-action Stranger Things stars returned to reprise their roles in animation. The cast for Tales From ‘85 consists of Brooklyn Davey Norstedt as Eleven, Jolie Hoang-Rappaport as Max, Luca Diaz as Mike, Elisha “EJ” Williams as Lucas, Braxton Quinney as Dustin, Ben Plessala as Will, Brett Gipson as Hopper, Odessa A’zion as Nikki Baxer, Jeremy Jordan as Steve, Janeane Garofalo as Anna Baxter and Lou Diamond Phillips as Daniel Fischer, Robert Englund as Cosmo, Alysia Reiner as Karen Wheeler, Alessandra Antonelli as Nancy Wheeler, Valeria Rodriguez as Rosario, and Jack Griffo as Jeff.
Check out all episodes of Stranger Things and Tales From ‘85 on Netflix.
via Collider