Stranger Things has ended, but may its spirit live on. Netflix’s popular 1980s sci-fi horror series dominated pop culture for nearly a decade. However, in the final hours of 2025, it concluded first with a bang, then a whimper, and finally a 40 – minute epilogue. By the end, some plot points were resolved, like Eleven’s sacrifice and possible survival. Meanwhile, other things were left unresolved, such as all those pregnant women who seemingly got blown up along with the rest of the Upside Down, or the fact that Joyce and Hopper went to high school with Henry Creel and this was never shown on – screen.
But the show will continue in its best – known way: by presenting a past we’re nostalgic for. will showcase new adventures of the Hawkins gang in excellent animation. But can it replace the original show that inspired it? It’s easy to envision how it could, yet it also poses a significant risk.
The most apparent advantage of Tales from ‘85 lies in its very format. One of the major criticisms of Stranger Things was its slow production schedule. This meant that the child actors aged much faster than their characters, to the point where they were well into their 20s but still playing 17 – year – olds. Tales from ‘85 is set between Seasons 2 and 3, so the characters are 14 – 15 years old. Since the series is animated, these characters can remain at this age for as many years and seasons as required.
There are also story – related implications. We don’t know what occurred between Seasons 2 and 3, but it wasn’t substantial enough to change the story significantly. So, this series can’t have extremely high – stakes plots. What it can do, though, is offer something almost synonymous with the 1980s: a monster – of – the – week cartoon where the gang defeats a new villain each episode, and everything returns to normal at the end. Of course, since this is Netflix, it’s unlikely these episodes will be released weekly, but it could be a homage to this classic formula.
And perhaps, just perhaps, Tales from ‘85 could make the series finale seem more logical in hindsight. It doesn’t seem reasonable for Eleven to pull Mike aside and explain that if she sacrifices herself, she’ll actually be backpacking in Iceland. But there are events that most characters aren’t even aware of, like the glowing rock in Henry’s past, which could be relevant.
Stranger Things has always drawn inspiration from Stephen King’s works. Maybe this series could be its It: Welcome to Derry, expanding the story without disrupting the later – occurring events in the timeline. At the very least, it could adopt the idea of “explaining what’s going on with that”.