Netflix Shares First-Look At ‘Stranger Things: Tales From ’85’ Animated Series

Netflix has shared a first-look featurette for Stranger Things: Tales From ’85, a new animated series set in the Stranger Things universe and slated to debut next year. The clip was released as part of Stranger Things Day, held on the date Will Byers first went missing in Hawkins, Indiana, in the original live-action series.

Set during the icy Midwest winter of 1985, between Seasons 2 and 3 of the original show, the series follows Eleven and her friends as they face new monsters and unravel a paranormal mystery threatening their small town.

Eric Robles (Glitch Techs, Fanboy & Chum Chum) serves as showrunner and executive producer, with Matt and Ross Duffer, Hilary Leavitt (via Upside Down Pictures), and Shawn Levy and Dan Cohen (via 21 Laps) also serving as executive producers. Animation is being produced by Flying Bark Productions, the Sydney-based studio behind Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and What If…?

The series’ voice cast, in true Saturday morning cartoon tradition, doesn’t include the original show’s actors. Instead, it features Brooklyn Davey Norstedt as Eleven, Jolie Hoang-Rappaport as Max, Luca Diaz as Mike, Elisha “EJ” Williams as Lucas, Braxton Quinney as Dustin, Ben Plessala as Will, and Brett Gipson as Hopper, with Odessa A’zion, Janeane Garofalo, and Lou Diamond Phillips in supporting roles.

“With animation, there’s really no limits,” said Ross Duffer in a first-look featurette released for Stranger Things Day. “Eric and his team can just go wild … and they have.”

We got an earlier glimpse of the project back in June at the Annecy International Animation Festival, where Robles presented the first footage and concept art. “The team and I, we’ve been working really, really hard to make sure that we capture the very thing that makes Stranger Things what it is,” Robles told the audience.

He cited classic ’80s cartoons like The Real Ghostbusters, Beetlejuice, and Transformers as touchstones for the show’s nostalgic tone. Robles also revealed that the series’ visual style was inspired by fan artist Meybis Ruiz Cruz, whose Stranger Things fan art helped define the project’s look.

During the Annecy presentation, Robles showcased extensive concept art, including designs of familiar Hawkins locations, new monsters, and snow-covered winter settings. “The Duffer brothers sent us thousands of detailed photos from the live-action show to accurately design and model each location,” he explained, before sharing a CG-rendered version of the Byers’ house blanketed in snow.

The sneak peek concluded with an animatic of an action-heavy sequence featuring animation by Kevin Molina-Ortiz, which earned an enthusiastic ovation from the Bonlieu crowd.

Robles summed up the creative spirit behind the project: “Get your flashlight, get your backpack, because it’s going to be amazing.”

Stranger Things: Tales From ’85 will stream on Netflix in 2026.