- Network: Netflix
- Series Premiere Date: Apr 23, 2026
Critic Reviews
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Mounted by showrunner Eric Robles, it’s a streamlined, supercharged telling, stripped of the soap operatics that occupied more of the original series than you might remember. It’s a classic kids-versus-monster adventure from which adults are largely absent, which in its own way makes this a superior “Stranger Things.”
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Tales From ‘85 does the one thing we all want but can’t have: it successfully captures the strengths of childhood friendships, before the pressures of growing up set in.
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By the end of the series, you’ll find your heart warmed by the returning characters and comforting world, even if nothing much really changes.
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Stranger Things: Tales From ’85 is good enough that franchise completists aren’t going to cringe while watching it, and it may be a good way to introduce younger kids to the franchise. But we just wish it was a little scarier, and the character animation a little less weird.
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"Stranger Things: Tales From '85" is a fun watch, whether for fans of the franchise or not, but is ultimately inessential.