Hawkins, Indiana, has been closed for business since Stranger Things reached its final season. Netflix has no intention of leaving the universe alone. On Friday 6 November, the date fans call Stranger Things Day, the streamer announced Other Worlds: A Stranger Things Adventure, a live-action prequel series set in the 1950s. It is due in 2028.
The order matters for two reasons. It is the first live-action return to the franchise since the finale, and it hands the keys to a writer who has already proven she can extend the mythology without the original cast.
A new decade, a new ensemble
Other Worlds takes place decades before the Hawkins kids uncovered a supernatural conspiracy in their small town, and before the events of Stranger Things: The First Shadow, the stage play set in Hawkins in 1959. Netflix is keeping plot details locked away. What it has confirmed is an all-new ensemble, new heroes and villains, and fresh mythology. Casting has not been announced.
Matt and Ross Duffer, who created Stranger Things and are executive producers here, put it this way: “It’s Stranger Things, but also thrillingly fresh, with a new setting, new heroes and villains, and new … actually, we’re not allowed to say any more.” They closed with a line for the faithful: “watch the skies, nerds!”
Who is making it
Trefry is showrunner, co-creator and writer. She has worked on Stranger Things since its second season and wrote the script for The First Shadow, which gives her an unusual claim to the period before Hawkins. “There are so many more mysteries to explore. Welcome to Other Worlds,” she said.
Joe Wright, the BAFTA and Golden Globe winner, directs the first three episodes. Executive producers are Trefry, Wright, the Duffers, Shawn Levy, Paul Dichter, Shelley Meals, Andrea Sperling and Pavlina Hatoupis. The series comes from 21 Laps and Upside Down Pictures, and it will be produced in New Mexico.
Jinny Howe, Netflix’s head of scripted series for the US and Canada, framed the order as a chance “to give fans a new dimension of this universe to step into.”
Why Netflix is doubling down
The franchise remains one of the streamer’s most valuable properties. Netflix says Stranger Things has drawn more than 1.2 billion views across its first four seasons, and the brand already extends to the animated Stranger Things: Tales From ’85, now in its second season, plus the Netflix House venues in Philadelphia and Dallas. A 2028 date also leaves room for the stage production: The First Shadow plays the Phoenix Theatre in London’s West End through 27 December and the Marquis Theatre on Broadway through 3 January 2027.
For a company whose latest quarterly results put the spotlight on its biggest franchises, a prequel with the Duffers’ names attached is a familiar kind of bet. It joins a slate that includes fresh seasons of The Diplomat and other returning favourites. For what is actually streaming this month, The Remote‘s New on Streaming in the US, November 2026 guide has the full list.
Where to watch
- Stranger Things, Seasons 1 to 5: Netflix, CA US UK AU NZ, streaming now
- Stranger Things: Tales From ’85, Seasons 1 and 2: Netflix, CA US UK AU NZ, streaming now
- Other Worlds: A Stranger Things Adventure: Netflix, worldwide, 2028 (date to be announced)
- Stranger Things: The First Shadow: Phoenix Theatre, London, through 27 December; Marquis Theatre, New York, through 3 January 2027
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