Stranger Things spin-off creator says it's meant to feel like a "lost season" of the main show: "You could easily take this and make it the live-action version"

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Stranger Things spin-off creator says it's meant to feel like a "lost season" of the main show: "You could easily take this and make it the live-action version" News By Lauren Milici published 10 February 2026

The series is set to hit Netflix in April

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Stranger Things: Tales from '85 showrunner Eric Robles says the spinoff is meant to feel like a lost season of the flagship show and explain what Mike, Eleven, and co. got up to on their winter break before season 3.

"You could easily take this and make it the live-action version," Robles told Empire. "We wanted to go back to Hawkins and feel like a lost season... when the kids weren't trying to save the world – they were just trying to save the town."

The animated series takes place between Stranger Things seasons 2 and 3, filling in the gaps and potentially answering some still-lingering questions that the series finale did not. It also introduces us to some brand new, never-before-seen creatures from the Upside Down. The trailer showed us some Demogorgon variations with pumpkins for heads, which rose right up out of a pumpkin patch in Hawkins. Given that we don't see these creatures anywhere else in the live-action series... we're definitely intrigued.

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• First trailer for Stranger Things spin-off Tales from '85 is here to fill the Upside Down-shaped hole in our hearts
• Stranger Things creators say the spinoff won't be about Holly Wheeler, and one Vecna detail is super important
• The Duffer Brothers tease a secret Stranger Things project

Per the official Tales from '85 tagline, the "epic new animated series" sees the original Stranger Things characters "fight new monsters and unravel a paranormal mystery." Robles also told Empire that he's a big fan of Jaws, and that Tales from '85 is "their version."

The voice cast includes Brett Gipson as Hopper, Luca Diaz as Mike, Brooklyn Davey Norstedt as Eleven, Braxton Quinney as Dustin, Elisha Williams as Lucas, Ben Plessala as Will, and Jolie Hoang-Rappaport as Max. Odessa A'zion, Janeane Garofalo, and Lou Diamond Phillips also lend their voices to undisclosed roles.

Stranger Things: Tales from '85 is set to hit Netflix on April 23. All episodes of Stranger Things are streaming now. For more, check out our breakdown of the Stranger Things season 5 finale explained, or see our Stranger Things season 5 finale review.

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Lauren Milici is a Senior Entertainment Writer for GamesRadar+ based in New York City. She previously reported on breaking news for The Independent's Indy100 and created TV and film listicles for Ranker. Her work has been published in Fandom, Nerdist, Paste Magazine, Vulture, PopSugar, Fangoria, and more.

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