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Stranger Things is a multimedia franchise based on the American television series created by the Duffer Brothers for Netflix. The titular series, Stranger Things, debuted in July…
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Investigate this subjectStranger Things is a multimedia franchise based on the American television series created by the Duffer Brothers for Netflix. The titular series, Stranger Things, debuted in July 2016, attracting record viewership and widespread critical acclaim.
Stranger Things is a multimedia franchise based on the American television series created by the Duffer Brothers for Netflix. The titular series, Stranger Things, debuted in July 2016, attracting record viewership and widespread critical acclaim. Set in the 1980s, the original show follows supernatural events in the fictional town of Hawkins, Indiana, United States of America. Its blend of government-lab conspiracy, child protagonists, and 1980s pop culture nostalgia has earned praise for its writing, atmosphere, ensemble cast, and homage to 1980s genre films. The first four seasons garnered multiple award nominations (including 12 Primetime Emmy Awards) and numerous accolades.
The franchise includes a stage play, planned spin-off series, a line of novels and comics, several video games, and extensive licensed merchandise.
Two television series make up the Stranger Things franchise: Stranger Things, and Tales from '85. All series in total amount to 60 episodes across seven seasons of television.
Stranger Things was created, written, and directed by the Duffer Brothers, produced in association with Shawn Levy's 21 Laps Entertainment and Duffers' Monkey Massacre Productions. The Duffers conceived the show as a blend of 1980s Spielbergian adventure and Stephen King–style horror.
The first season (set in 1983) premiered on Netflix on July 15, 2016. It introduced the disappearance of young Will Byers and the appearance of a telekinetic girl named Eleven escaping from a secretive government lab. The first season consists of eight episodes. In October 2017, Netflix released the second season, which focuses on the aftermath of Will's time spent in the alternate "Upside Down" alongside a new entity known as the Mind Flayer. The third season arrived on July 4, 2019. It is set in the summer of 1985, focusing on the heroes' battle with the Mind Flayer at the new Starcourt Mall and culminating in a dramatic confrontation that changes the town's status quo. The fourth season (split into two volumes released on May 27 and July 1, 2022) follows the group in early 1986 as the Upside Down's influence resurfaces via the new villain Vecna, even as the characters face challenges separated across multiple locations. The fifth and final season was released in three parts throughout November and December 2025.
In July 2022, it was revealed that a spin-off series was in the works. In April 2023, Netflix greenlit a straight-to-series order for an animated series that is set in the Stranger Things universe. The animation for the series is being provided by Flying Bark Productions with Eric Robles, the Duffer Brothers, Shawn Levy and Dan Cohen as executive producers on the show. The Duffer Brothers said the series would be in the vein of the Saturday-morning cartoons they grew up with. In 2025, it was revealed that the animated spin-off will be titled Stranger Things: Tales from '85, and as the title implies, it is set in the winter of 1985, between the second and third seasons of the main series. The series will introduce a new character named Nikki Baxter who is said to be "a tinker", and who has pinkish hair that's short on the sides. On November 6, 2025, Netflix released a first look teaser for Tales from '85, also revealing its voice cast.
The first season of Tales from '85 was released in its entirety on April 23, 2026. In April 2026, the series was renewed for a second season, which premiered on September 17, 2026.
In December 2022, reports of an anime series spinoff titled Stranger Things: Tokyo came out. However, the existence of this series has not been officially confirmed by Netflix nor the Duffer Brothers.
A live-action spin-off of Stranger Things, separate from Tales from '85, is in development. In an article published on August 5, 2025, Finn Wolfhard described the planned spin-off as being "like David Lynch's 'Twin Peaks.' Sort of an anthology and different tones but similar universe or same universe. I think set in different places and all tied together through this mythology of the Upside Down. Don't even talk about Hawkins. Don't have any mention of our characters. They were toying around with ideas in case Netflix wanted them. I'm sure they do, and I'm sure it will happen, but there's nothing official. I think the coolest way, the way that I would do it, there has to be labs everywhere. If there was one in Hawkins, there's one in Russia. Where else could they be?".
With the release of the second season of the series, Netflix also released Beyond Stranger Things, an aftershow hosted by Jim Rash. The guests are cast and crew from the series, including the Duffer Brothers and the series' stars, who discuss the development and production of the series and its larger mythology. Unlike previous aftershows created by Embassy Row, such as Talking Dead and Talking Bad, Beyond Stranger Things is intended to be watched after a screening of the entire second season.
In July 2019, Netflix released a three-episode podcast titled Behind The Scenes: Stranger Things Podcast, hosted by Dan Taberski. The podcast explores the making of the show's third season through interviews and production insights.
For the fourth season, Netflix released a two-part aftershow on YouTube titled Stranger Things: Unlocked. It was hosted by Felicia Day, with the first part releasing on June 9, 2022, to accompany the season's first volume, and the second part one month later for the second volume.
Accompanying season five, a series of behind the scenes features were published on YouTube after the release of each volume under the title Stranger Things 5: Inside the Episodes.
A behind-the-scenes documentary for the fifth season, titled One Last Adventure: The Making of Stranger Things 5, was released on Netflix on January 12, 2026.
Beginning in late 2018, Penguin Random House partnered with Netflix to publish a series of books based on Stranger Things. These include How to Survive in a Stranger Things World, a children's book re
Source: Stranger Things (franchise) (CC BY-SA)
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