Netflix is taking viewers back to the supernatural world of Hawkins. The streaming giant has announced that the animated spin-off series «Stranger Things: Tales from ’85» will return for a second season on Thursday, September 17, 2026.
The quick turnaround comes just five months after the show’s inaugural season premiered in April 2026. The eight-episode sophomore instalment will pick up immediately where the previous finale left off, resolving a major cliffhanger that saw a Demogorgon emerging from the remains of an Upside Down entity.
Showrunner Eric Robles returns to helm the computer-animated project. The series follows the core characters from the live-action flagship show, Eleven, Mike, Will, Dustin, Lucas and Max, who have reorganised themselves as the Hawkins Investigators Club.
According to official plot details from Netflix, the new episodes take place in the lead-up to Valentine’s Day. The town of Hawkins faces fresh supernatural threats when ghostly apparitions and a swarm of mysterious «hate sprites» begin wreaking havoc. The season will also introduce previously unseen locations, with Robles confirming the heroes will venture into an unexplored local mine.
Familiar voices and new mysteries
The core voice cast from the first season is returning to reprise their roles. The ensemble features Brooklyn Davey Norstedt as Eleven, Luca Diaz as Mike Wheeler, Benjamin Plessala as Will Byers, Braxton Quinney as Dustin Henderson, Elisha «EJ» Williams as Lucas Sinclair and Jolie Hoang-Rappaport as Max Mayfield.
Odessa A’Zion also returns to voice Nikki Baxter alongside Brett Gipson as Jim Hopper and Jeremy Jordan as Steve Harrington.
The spin-off offers a lighter and more adventure-driven tone compared to the increasingly dark live-action parent series. However, it maintains a TV-PG rating and relies heavily on viewers having a basic familiarity with the franchise’s established mythology.
The first season faced some viewership challenges compared to other flagship properties on the platform. It remained in the Netflix top 10 rankings for two weeks while logging 23.9mn viewing hours and 4.9mn total views.
