Published Feb 4, 2026, 9:31 AM EST
Felipe Rangel is a Superheroes Lead Writer and Reviewer at ScreenRant. He has been writing about movies and TV since 2021, with a focus on superhero projects. Felipe joined ScreenRant in 2022, working across different teams, covering everything from breaking news to features to reviews and more. Since the launch of the Superheroes vertical in 2023, he has focused his efforts on coming up with insightful analyses of Marvel and DC's projects.
Felipe is a writer who is an avid film and TV fan, with superhero movies and series being his biggest passion. He graduated from college in 2019, having studied Journalism. Before college, he spent a month studying at the Oxford English Centre. His superhero knowledge expands to the comics, with his undergraduate thesis being "Politics Reflected In American Comics."
Stranger Things has ended, but only a few months after the series finale of the fan-favorite TV show, a new Netflix Sci-Fi series emerges as a must-watch for those looking for a replacement. Stranger Things' five seasons were consistently great, even though season 5 landed with more criticism than the excellent season 4. That was expected, as it was the hit show's final season.
The Stranger Things cast is now off to star in other projects, with Sadie Sink already joining another franchise in the form of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and most actors are already seeing new projects announced. Stranger Things fans looking for a new Sci-Fi series on Netflix to replace the show have to look no further, as such a project will be released in a couple of months.
Stranger Things' Replacement Gets First Look And Will Debut Soon
Multiple Stranger Things spinoffs are in development at Netflix. Given the popularity of the series, which has multiple seasons on Netflix's most-watched TV shows of all time chart, expanding the franchise beyond the flagship show was always going to be the plan. The first Stranger Things spinoff comes in animated form, with Stranger Things: Tales from '85 releasing on Netflix on April 23, 2026.
Netflix has released the first trailer for Stranger Things: Tales from '85, which revealed the debut of a new monster from the Upside Down that was never seen in the original show and comes to Hawkins in the animated series. The events of the Stranger Things spinoff take place between seasons 2 and 3 of the Netflix series.
Why Stranger Things: Tales From '85 Is The Netflix Series' Perfect Replacement?
3 Body Problem season 2, The Boroughs, and Something Very Bad Is Going to Happen — the last two are produced by Stranger Things' creators, the Duffer Brothers — are three of the Sci-Fi shows coming to Netflix in 2026. All three of them could help fill the void left by Stranger Things' ending, but none of the shows serve as the hit series' perfect replacement.
After all, what better replacement for the show could exist if not Stranger Things: Tales from '85? Not only is the animated series the first Stranger Things spinoff, but it will bring back the beloved characters from the Netflix series just four months after the show ended. For those missing characters like Eleven, Mike, Hopper, Max, Steve, and more, the 2026 series answers that call.
While some might argue that Stranger Things: Tales from '85 is retreading old ground, the animated format, as well as how the show explores the main cast as kids, evoking nostalgia, and finally brings a snow-filled Hawkins to life with brand-new monsters, makes for a fresh Stranger Things experience. Had a sequel been released so soon, it would not work as well as a replacement like the Stranger Things prequel should.
Writers Ross Duffer, Matt Duffer
Franchise(s) Stranger Things
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Brooklyn Davey Norstedt
Eleven
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Jolie Hoang-Rappaport
Max
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English (US) ·