Netflix is turning things Upside Down again: The streamer has ordered a “Stranger Things” prequel spin-off, TVLine has learned.
“Other Worlds: A Stranger Things Adventure” is a live-action prequel “set in the 1950s, before ‘Stranger Things’ and before the stage play ‘Stranger Things: The First Shadow,'” according to the official description, and is slated to debut on Netflix in 2028. “Stranger Things” writer Kate Trefry will serve as showrunner and co-creator along with the Duffer brothers, who created the original series. Joe Wright (“Pride & Prejudice”) will direct the first three episodes.
Netflix has also released an appropriately creepy teaser trailer for the series — watch it above.
“‘Stranger Things’ has always belonged to the fans, and their passion made it a worldwide phenomenon,” Netflix Head of Scripted Series, US & Canada Jinny Howe said in a statement. “Today, on Stranger Things Day, we’re honored to partner again with Matt and Ross Duffer and Kate Trefry to give fans a new dimension of this universe to step into. ‘Other Worlds: A Stranger Things Adventure’ takes us to the 1950s with new heroes and all the heart, mystery, and spectacle of the original series. We’re proud to keep building this world with the Duffers, Kate, Shawn Levy, and Joe Wright, and we can’t wait for fans to see what’s next.”
Stranger Things wrapped up a five-season run in 2025
Debuting on Netflix in 2016, “Stranger Things” followed a group of ’80s suburban kids as they investigated a paranormal disturbance in their hometown of Hawkins, Indiana. The cast included Finn Wolfhard, Gaten Matarazzo, Noah Schnapp, Caleb McLaughlin, and Millie Bobby Brown as the supernaturally gifted Eleven. The show became a worldwide phenomenon, shattering viewership records for Netflix and spawning a stage play, “Stranger Things: The First Shadow,” and an animated spin-off, “Stranger Things: Tales From ’85,” that earned a Season 2 renewal earlier this year. “Stranger Things” wrapped up with a fifth and final season in 2025. (Check out our series finale recap here.)
“We’ve been dreaming of ‘Other Worlds: A Stranger Things Adventure’ for many years now, and to see it become a reality is surreal and exhilarating,” the Duffer brothers said in a statement. “We’re so grateful to our incredible team of collaborators: our showrunner Kate Trefry, who has been in the trenches with us since Season 2 and wrote ‘Stranger Things: The First Shadow’; and our director, Joe Wright, a brilliant artist whose work we’ve long admired. We can’t wait for you to see what they’re cooking up. It’s ‘Stranger Things,’ but also thrillingly fresh, with a new setting, new heroes and villains, and new… actually, we’re not allowed to say any more. Now, on to casting. In the meantime — watch the skies, nerds!”
Are you excited to go back in time with “Stranger Things”? Drop your thoughts on the spin-off news in a comment below.
