Netflix’s New Stranger Things Spin-Off Was Always Doomed (And I Can Prove It)

The issue is that expanding a show with spin-offs can diminish the excitement, as we’ve seen with series like The Walking Dead. Stranger Things has always been strongest when its story felt contained, even as later seasons took risks. This new spin-off, Stranger Things: Tales from ’85, feels like an admission that the original story wasn’t sufficient on its own. It revisits familiar elements – Hawkins, the Upside Down, and the characters – but doesn’t offer much that’s new. Ultimately, it’s not a positive development.








