If you've been mourning the end of "Stranger Things," April 23 could well have been 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, that Thursday saw us head back to Hawkins for a new animated adventure.
This is "Stranger Things: Tales From '85," a new animated series that's now available on the streaming service. It tells a new story set between the earlier years of the show, and offers 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 (though they're voiced by new actors, not the live-action stars).
When we first published this article, I said I wouldn't be too surprised to see "Tales From '85" creep into the Netflix charts, and it looks like the "Stranger Things" fans couldn't wait to reunite with the Hawkins crew. By Friday, April 24, the new spinoff was already one of the most-watched shows on the platform. However, it hasn't been received all that warmly, judging by that Rotten Tomatoes score.
Need a little help deciding whether to add the new show to your watchlist? Here's a little more info about "Stranger Things: Tales From '85," including what critics have said about the show so far.
What is 'Stranger Things: Tales From '85' about?
"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?
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 I think the new voice cast has done a solid job of inhabiting the characters.
Early reviews for the full season made it clear that the show has split opinions, and that opinion's only been solidified since release. At the time of writing, "Stranger Things: Tales From '85" holds a 67% approval rating from critics on RT, with a 48% from viewers at home.
As an example of what's been said, 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."
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
