If you’ve been mourning the end of “Stranger Things,” April 23 is your lucky day. Four months after “Stranger Things” season 5’s finale brought the Duffer Brothers’ hit Netflix series to its end (in divisive fashion) at the start of 2026, we’re already heading back to Hawkins for another adventure.
Yes, as of today, the new animated spinoff, “Stranger Things: Tales From ’85,” is now available on the streaming service, offering franchise fans the chance to ride along with Eleven, Mike, Will and the rest of the gang as they tackle another paranormal mystery in their hometown. While it boasts an all-new voice cast, I wouldn’t be surprised to see this new chapter in the franchise creep into Netflix’s top 10 before long.
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What is ‘Stranger Things: Tales From ’85’ about?
Stranger Things: Tales From ‘85 | Official Trailer | Netflix – YouTube
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— Stranger Things: Tales From ‘85 | Official Trailer | Netflix
“Stranger Things: Tales From ’85” takes place in the winter of 1985 (between seasons 2 and 3 of the main show) and sees Eleven, Mike, Will, Dustin, Lucas, and Max settling into some normality (D&D, snowball fights, downtime), only to find themselves embroiled in a new paranormal mystery.
Something terrifying has awakened beneath the snow, and it falls to our young heroes once again to solve the mystery and save Hawkins from the fearsome thing that’s terrorizing their town.
The voice cast for “Tales From ’85” includes Brooklyn Davey, Norstedt, Luca Diaz, Benjamin Plessala, Braxton Quinney, Elisha “EJ” Williams,” Jolie Hoang-Rappaport, Brett Gipson, Jeremy Jordan, Odessa A’zion, Janeane Garofalo and Lou Diamond Phillips.
Should you stream ‘Stranger Things: Tales From ’85’ on Netflix?
(Image credit: Netflix)
I didn’t get advance access to the show, so I can’t give a complete verdict on it just yet (I’m only a couple of episodes in!), but so far, “Tales From ’85” feels like an entertaining diversion.
After season 5’s disappointing end, I wasn’t really sure I needed any more “Stranger Things” in my life, and I was reticent that the new voice cast would make these just not feel like the same characters, but so far, I’m intrigued. The show’s visually impressive, I’m interested to see what’s at the heart of the latest threat plaguing Hawkins, and the voice cast largely feels like the same characters fans have adored for the past decade.
(Image credit: Netflix)
Reviews for the full season are already in the wild, though, and it looks like “Stranger Things: Tales From ’85” has split viewers.
For example, The Guardian’s Jack Seale gave the show a 3-star rating, writing: “Walkie-talkies, teen romance, hideous monsters … this animated series has everything that made the original series so lovable. It might go nowhere, but that’s not such a bad thing.”
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IGN offered a similar 6/10 verdict: “Stranger Things: Tales From ’85 is a colorful but underbaked addition to the Stranger Things universe. While animation allows for lots of creature chases and battles, the thin story results in a weaker and more repetitive adventure than expected.”
Variety’s Alison Herman, meanwhile, summed the show up as “a depressing, cynical retread,” adding: ““Tales From ‘85” is a transparent attempt to preserve “Stranger Things” in pixels rather than amber, allowing Netflix to keep capitalizing on the phenomenon long after its original faces have moved on to other projects.”
In short, then, if you were looking for a must-watch new show, “Tales From ’85” might not be the Netflix binge you were waiting for, but if you’ve spent the first few months of 2026 yearning for another adventure with the Hawkins co., you might still want to add it to your watchlist.
Stream “Stranger Things: Tales From ’85” on Netflix now
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