Fresh Insights into Stranger Things: Tales from '85 and Critical Reception Overview

By  Published Apr 23, 2026, 9:15 AM EDT Felipe Rangel is a Movie and TV Journalist ScreenRant. He has been writing about movies and TV since 2026. Felipe joined ScreenRant in 2026, working across different teams, covering everything from breaking news to features to reviews and more.

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." follow Follow followed Followed Like Like Log in Here is a fact-based summary of the story contents: Try something different: Show me the facts Explain it like I’m 5 Give me a lighthearted recap

is back with a bang.

Stranger Things was for the better part of a decade. The sci-fi horror series came to an end with the release of the Stranger Things season 5 finale as a major event on December 31, 2026. While the main show ended, Netflix has multiple spinoffs in the works, with one even teased during the show's final season. Now, the first of those spinoffs has already arrived on the streamer merely months after , and it is off to a solid start.

On Rotten Tomatoes, Netflix's animated has debuted with a high 83% critics' score, based on 6 reviews at the time of writing. That is high, but it also nearly ties the original show's lowest-rated season, which only goes to show just how well Stranger Things was received by critics. The original show's worst performer was Stranger Things season 5, with an 82% critics' score based on 161 reviews.

Max Mike Dustin Eleven and Nikki in Stranger things Tales from '85

Netflix's Stranger Things season 1 is the highest-rated in the franchise, with a whooping 97% critics' score. Seasons 2, 3, and 4 currently stand at 94%, 89%, and 89%, respectively. Given how Stranger Things: Tales from '85 has only just debuted on Netflix today, April 23, the animated series' Rotten Tomatoes score should fluctuate over the weekend and the following week as more reviews are added to the platform.

Due to its recent release, Stranger Things: Tales from '85 still has not had its audience score revealed. The Stranger Things spinoff has an important task ahead of it, which is achieving a better landing with viewers than the final season of the original show did just four months ago. Stranger Things season 5 has a low 52% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes. It is the only negative audience score for a season of the sci-fi horror series.

All 10 episodes of Stranger Things: Tales from '85 are now available on Netflix. The animated spinoff follows the same beloved characters from the Netflix show as they go on a lost adventure set between seasons 2 and 3 of Stranger Things, with a snow-covered Hawkins serving as the backdrop to the rise of new monsters and mysteries.

The spinoff adds new character Nikki Baxter (Odessa A'zion) to the young crew that includes the beloved characters Eleven, Mike, Dustin, Lucas, Max, and Will. Other players, such as Hopper and Steve, also appear in the show. However, all the returning characters have been recast for the spinoff. Given how the spinoff is set between Stranger Things seasons 2 and 3, many of the original actors have aged out of their roles.

In ScreenRant's , critic Kara Hedash gave the show a 5 out of 10 score. According to the writer, "Tales from '85 is a fun concept, but it misunderstands its audience." The reason for that is how the show is billed as an "entry-level" take on Stranger Things for younger viewers, but its story relies on viewers knowing what happens in the first two seasons of the show. Stranger Things: Tales from '85 season 2 has yet to be confirmed.

8.7/10 10 stars 9 stars 8 stars 7 stars 6 stars 5 stars 4 stars 3 stars 2 stars 1 star Like Follow Followed TV-14 Release Date April 23, 2026 Network Netflix Showrunner Eric Robles

Cast

• Brooklyn Davey Norstedt Eleven
• Odessa A'zion Nikki Baxter

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WHERE TO WATCH

Directors Phil Allora Writers Jennifer Muro Franchise(s) Stranger Things Creator(s) Matt Duffer, Ross Duffer, Eric Robles Expand Collapse

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