Netflix isn’t done with Stranger Things. Even after the main series wrapped with Season 5 last December, the platform is continuing to expand the franchise across multiple formats, with several projects already confirmed.
A filmed version of the stage production Stranger Things: The First Shadow is coming to Netflix, while a live-action spinoff centered on the “briefcase rock” introduced in the Season 5 finale is also on the way.
Now, that expansion has taken its first major step with Stranger Things: Tales From ’85 (2026), a 3D animated series set between seasons 2 and 3.
The new series revisits Hawkins during the winter of 1985 as Eleven, Mike, Dustin, Lucas, Will, and Max face a new threat tied to the Upside Down. The characters return with a new voice cast, alongside new additions including Nikki Baxter.
Showrunner Eric Robles previously described the project as a “lost season,” telling Empire, “We wanted to go back to Hawkins and feel like a lost season,” adding that the story focuses on a time “when the kids weren’t trying to save the world — they were just trying to save the town.”
That approach is certainly reflected in the structure, which plays out as a continuous story rather than standalone adventures, despite the anthology-like title suggesting otherwise.
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Visually, the series opts for a polished CG style rather than the stylized look seen in projects like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem (2023). It also retains the tone of the live-action series, from its ‘80s-inspired soundtrack to its creature-driven horror elements, though the violence is toned down.
The placement of the story has also raised continuity questions, as none of the events depicted are referenced in later seasons of the original show.
All 10 episodes of Stranger Things: Tales From ’85 are now streaming on Netflix.
It stars Brooklyn Davey Norstedt (Eleven), Luca Diaz (Mike Wheeler), Braxton Quinney (Dustin Henderson), Jolie Hoang-Rappaport (Max Mayfield), Elisha Williams (Lucas Sinclair), Ben Plessala (Will Byers), Odessa A’zion (Nikki Baxter), Brett Gipson (Jim Hopper), Janeane Garofalo (Anna Baxter), Griffin Burns (Jonathan Byers), Jeremy Jordan (Steve Harrington), Lou Diamond Phillips (Daniel Fischer), Robert Englund (Cosmo), Alysia Reiner (Karen Wheeler), Alessandra Antonelli (Nancy Wheeler), Valeria Rodriguez (Rosario), and Jack Griffo (Jeff).
Have you watched Tales From ’85 yet? Let us know in the comments below!
