When I look at the way Netflix expands almost anything that becomes a hit, especially Stranger Things, I get the sense there’s a pretty automatic pattern happening. What do I mean by that? Everything that turns into a success gets an extension, a spin-off, or some kind of continuation that tries to keep that universe alive for longer than it probably needs to be. This isn’t exactly new in the TV and film industry, but in this case, it’s starting to feel a bit repetitive. I’m not against expanding shows, but there’s a difference between expanding something because there are new stories worth telling that actually make sense and expanding it just because there’s still an audience willing to watch.
The problem is that this changes how we experience these projects. When a show reaches this level of expansion, every new spin-off can stop feeling exciting (just look at The Walking Dead). Stranger Things has always worked really well within a closed structure, even when it started stretching some ideas in the later seasons. So now, with a new spin-off released, it feels like the original story wasn’t enough. Stranger Things: Tales from ’85 tries to fill the space left by the huge hit its predecessor was, with a premise that returns to Hawkins, the Upside Down, and its characters — but without really stepping outside the same narrative circle. Is that a good thing? No.
Let me get straight to the point: the idea behind Stranger Things: Tales from ’85 is interesting, but not interesting enough to justify a serious investment in it. The plot itself isn’t bad, but it feels very safe, and that’s not what pulls audiences in anymore. This is a show set between Seasons 2 and 3 of the original series, suggesting what could have happened during that gap with the main characters. The problem is that when you’re dealing with a massive production like Stranger Things, which has already been explored so heavily both visually and narratively, the bare minimum expected from a spin-off is some kind of creative shift — in other words, changing the angle of the story. Instead, what we get here is basically a repackage of the same universe, just in animation.
I don’t look at this spin-off and think it’s a story that absolutely needed to be told. The showrunner, Eric Robles, has even said the idea was pure nostalgia, meant to let audiences reconnect with the characters and the overall Stranger Things vibe. But when a universe expansion isn’t truly necessary and relies only on familiarity, that becomes a problem. Hawkins, the lab, the Upside Down, the group dealing with supernatural events — all of that has already been explored in multiple layers throughout the main series.
And if we’re being honest, Stranger Things has some plot holes that frustrated a lot of fans. So maybe, if a spin-off was going to happen, that would’ve been the perfect place to address or rethink some of those issues. Tales from ’85 doesn’t take any real creative risks. I feel like animation could have been the perfect opportunity to break some of the internal rules of the universe, like explore new regions, new events, or even bigger consequences of what happened in the original show. Even focusing on a prequel angle or new characters, like the new group of kids seen in the final Stranger Things scene playing D&D, would have been a much more interesting direction. But what we got instead feels more focused on control than expansion. And to me, that’s the biggest waste of the spin-off’s potential.
Plus, there’s another very important factor here: timing. Stranger Things is still very fresh in pop culture and in people’s memories. I’m not saying that automatically invalidates the project, but it completely changes how it’s received. If this were something from years ago being revisited now, that would be one thing. But in this case, I personally already go in with lower expectations. And we’re not talking about just any show here, because Stranger Things lasted over a decade, with extremely strong highs, but also some very uneven lows in its final season that the entire internet discussed heavily. So what happens next? Saturation.
Expanding this world requires a lot of care, because it was a global phenomenon that worked, but also not perfectly. Game of Thrones, for example, is still seen as a high-level production with a weak ending. Stranger Things, on the other hand, is increasingly viewed as a show whose earlier seasons can’t actually outweigh what its conclusion delivered (at least for most people). It’s easier to find someone criticizing the series as a whole than praising it completely, because there were such drastic and controversial decisions that they’re hard to ignore. And after so many people talking about it for so long, it just becomes exhausting. That’s the main reason to think twice before adding more to this universe.
But beyond that, there’s also audience fatigue when it comes to spin-offs because of how the characters ended. Eleven’s fate, for instance, was one of the most criticized by fans, so seeing her in Tales from ’85 doesn’t really generate excitement. Even if the new series has interesting adventures, they’re still heading toward that same ending that many viewers didn’t like. In short, it creates a kind of emotional block in the audience, as if the entire spin-off loses impact because everyone already knows and doesn’t accept where things are going. Instead of feeling like something new, it feels like everything is already decided and inevitable, which weakens the expansion from the start.
Tales from ’85 doesn’t change perspective, doesn’t significantly shift tone, and doesn’t move far enough away from the original formula. It plays it extremely safe and doesn’t really innovate beyond introducing different monsters. There are countless possibilities for spin-offs where fans would really invest their time and feel satisfied, but seeing none of them being seriously considered is frustrating.
What bothers me isn’t the existence of this show itself, but what it represents within this larger logic. I understand the desire to keep Stranger Things alive, I understand the commercial appeal, but as a viewer, I find myself missing more daring decisions. Sometimes, expanding just for the sake of expanding isn’t the best choice; sometimes, the best thing a story can do is know when to stop going back into its own universe and repeating itself.
Stranger Things: Tales from ’85 is available to stream on Netflix.
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