The second season of Stranger Things: Tales from ’85 is right around the corner. On Tuesday morning, Netflix dropped the first trailer for the upcoming season 2, and it seems like the story will focus on a mysterious plant that creates paranormal phenomena.
“With Valentine’s Day on the way, the gang must uncover the truth behind ghostly apparitions and a swarm of strange creatures causing chaos around town,” the trailer’s YouTube description reads.
What is Stranger Things: Tales from ’85?
For those who aren’t caught up on Tales from ’85, it’s an animated spin-off of Stranger Things set between season two and three of the main show. It follows the series’ main cast as they encounter new otherworldly creatures from the Upside Down. Flying Bark Productions animated the show, a studio that recently contributed animation to the film Avatar Aang: The Last Airbender, among other projects. Eric Robles and Jennifer Muro developed Tales from ’85, while Stranger Things creators, the Duffer Brothers, served as executive producers.
Perhaps the most surprising thing about Tales from ’85 is how fast it’s been turned around. The show’s first season aired just a few months ago, on April 23, and the second season will come out on Sept. 18, 2026. Season 1 received a mixed response; while some critics argued it did a great job capturing the charm of early Stranger Things, others thought thatit lacked bite. The show has a 63% critics’ score and a 52% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes.
Tales from ’85 marks the first spin-off after the main series wrapped up in 2025. Considering that Stranger Things is one of Netflix’s biggest shows ever — the third season set the record for Netflix’s most-watched original series — it isn’t surprising that there’s going to be more of it. A live-action spin-off was reportedly in development as of 2023, but nothing has been formally announced. Since the end of Stranger Things, the Duffer Brothers have executive produced two Netflix horror TV shows, Something Very Bad Is Going to Happen and The Boroughs, both of which were relatively well-received.
