Stranger Things Spinoff Fails To Match Main Show’s Success On Netflix

Stranger Things ended in December 2025 after five seasons and with a divisive final episode, and now, four months after it, the show has reached the end of an era. Since its debut in 2016, Stranger Things became one of Netflix’s biggest hits and most popular TV shows, so naturally, its final season and episode were a big event for the streamer. However, there’s a lot more to tell and explore in the world of Stranger Things.

As a result, Netflix brought Stranger Things back less than a year after its ending with its first spinoff series. Titled Stranger Things: Tales From ‘85, it’s an animated show set between seasons 2 and 3 of the main show, meaning that, within the Stranger Things timeline, it takes place after the closing of the gate and before the opening of Starcourt Mall. Tales From ‘85 focuses on Eleven, Mike, Will, Dustin, Max, and Lucas, who meet a new friend and ally named Nikki.

Together, the Hawkins group comes across new monsters from the Upside Down, and so they have a new mystery to solve. Tales From ‘85 is a fun look at what happened between seasons of Stranger Things, but, unfortunately, the spinoff has now officially ended an era for the franchise, as it hasn’t been able to match the success of the main show.

Stranger Things’ Major Trending Streak Has Ended On Netflix

Despite the controversies of its final season, Stranger Things stands as one of Netflix’s biggest, most successful, and notable original TV shows. Stranger Things was a hit thanks to its concept, blend of horror, fantasy, sci-fi, drama, and 1980s nostalgia, and its world-building, which left various mysteries in every season for the characters and viewers to piece together.

The show’s cast and their performances were also key to the show’s success, along with the anticipation between seasons, which grew stronger due to the long gaps between them. All this led to Stranger Things consistently trending at the #1 spot on Netflix’s Top 10 with every season, where it stayed for at least the first week after release. Unfortunately, this streak has now ended with Tales From ‘85.

While Tales From ‘85 did make its way into Netflix’s Top 10, its highest ranking so far has been sixth. Unfortunately, the spinoff has only dropped since then, currently sitting at the #8 spot. It’s worth noting that Tales From ‘85 does rank #1 on Netflix’s Top 10 for kids’ content, but the viewership rankings are more limited for that list.

As an addition to one of Netflix’s best TV shows of all time, Tales From ‘85 was expected to take the first spot on Netflix’s Top 10 for at least a couple of days. Unfortunately, the show has failed to attract the wide audience of the main show, and if it didn’t go high in the Top 10 in its first week, it’s unlikely it will now.

Will Tales From ’85’s Viewership Impact Future Stranger Things Spinoffs?

Image courtesy of Netflix

At the time of writing, Tales From ‘85 is the only Stranger Things spinoff. Back in 2022, it was reported that an anime spinoff series titled Stranger Things: Tokyo was in development, but it was never officially announced or even acknowledged by Netflix and the Duffer Brothers. A live-action spinoff is reportedly in development, with Finn Wolfhard sharing in 2025 that it would be like David Lynch’s Twin Peaks and will follow a new group of characters.

However, there haven’t been any updates on the development of said live-action spinoff. While the viewership numbers of Tales From ‘85 would be expected to impact the expansion of Stranger Things, I would say this show is a special case. Tales From ‘85 is an addition to the main show, being set between seasons 2 and 3, and whatever happened in it, fans of Stranger Things already knew would have no impact on the main show.

This understandably wouldn’t be appealing to a big part of the Stranger Things audience, leading to its poor performance compared to that of the main show. I don’t think Stranger Things: Tales From ‘85’s viewership will negatively impact future Stranger Things spinoffs – on the contrary, it will be positive, as the team behind these shows will now know what doesn’t work and will hopefully focus on different settings and new groups of characters.