Every Stranger Things Spinoff Explained

Published Sep 23, 2026, 7:45 PM EDT

Adrienne Tyler is a movies & TV features writer, with a focus on horror. She has written for Netflix, FanSided, & more. She was a regular guest on the Netfreaks podcast and was a YouTuber at some point. Guillermo del Toro said “hi” to her once.

Stranger Things officially ended in 2025 after five seasons, but that wasn’t the end for the franchise, which has continued to grow with different spinoffs and related media. Netflix is home to some of the best TV shows of all time across different genres, and one of the platform’s biggest hits to date is Stranger Things. Created by the Duffer Brothers, Stranger Things debuted in 2016 and was an instant hit, and it maintained its popularity throughout its entire run.

Although the final season of Stranger Things, and especially its finale, was quite divisive, the show still ranks among the best fantasy shows of all time, and there are still many more stories to tell from Hawkins and the lab. Stranger Things is now a franchise that has expanded to video games, books, and even a stage play, along with an animated spinoff series. At the time of writing, there are more Stranger Things spinoffs in development.

While there’s now a lot of Stranger Things related media, especially comic books and novels, not all can be considered proper spinoffs of the main show. The comic books, for example, have a lot of contradictory information, but they are a fun complement for fans of the show who want more. Others, like the animated spinoff and some novels, are considered “soft canon”, so they might not have a direct impact on the main show. Still, they are all interesting expansions of the Stranger Things universe.

Stranger Things: Tales From ‘85

Animated Prequel Show Set Between Stranger Things Seasons 2 & 3

Image courtesy of Netflix

In April 2026, Netflix released Stranger Things: Tales From ‘85, an animated spinoff set between seasons 2 and 3 of the main show, meaning it's placed after Eleven closed the gate and before they dealt with the Russian base underneath Starcourt Mall. Season 1 saw Eleven and her friends facing a mutated version of the Demogorgon, and on a brighter side, they are joined by the new kid in town, Nikki Baxter (voiced by Odessa A’zion).

None of the cast of Stranger Things voices their characters in Tales From ‘85.

Season 2 takes place shortly after the events of the first season, and this time, the Hawkins kids come across a menace they never faced in the five seasons of Stranger Things: a ghost from the Upside Down. Both seasons are set in the winter of 1985, with season 2 set on Valentine’s Day.

Stranger Things: The First Shadow

Stage Play

Manuel Harlan

Stranger Things: The First Shadow is a play written by Kate Trefry and based on a story by the Duffers, Jack Thorne, and Trefry. The First Shadow is a prequel story, as it goes back to 1959 to explore the backstory of Henry Creel, who would go on to become Vecna. The play offers a look at Henry’s struggles, family dynamics, powers, and the events that led to him murdering his family. Netflix announced it filmed The First Shadow to release it on the platform, but it doesn’t have a release date yet.

Stranger Things: One Way or Another

Novel

As mentioned above, the Stranger Things franchise has a variety of novels, but the one considered an actual, proper spinoff is Stranger Things: One Way or Another: A Nancy Wheeler Mystery. Written by Caitlin Schneiderhan and published in December 2025, One Way or Another is set two months after the events of Stranger Things season 4. The novel follows Nancy and Robin as they investigate yet another conspiracy in Hawkins.

Untitled Stranger Things Live-Action Spinoff

In Development

Image via MovieStillsDB.com

At the time of writing, there’s another Stranger Things spinoff in development, this one a live-action show and completely separate from Tales From ‘85. The project was announced in 2023, but there haven’t been more substantial updates since then. In 2025, Finn Wolfhard described the live-action spinoff as an anthology and “like David Lynch’s Twin Peaks”, but without mentioning any of the characters of the main show.

It’s unclear if the project is still in active development, if it’s being reworked after the reception of Tales From ‘85, and if it will ever see the light of day, but hopefully, it will be a proper Stranger Things spinoff that explores the stories of other characters outside of Eleven’s circle.