Netflix reveals Stranger Things: Tales From 85 season 2 renewal and surprise late 2026 release window — but jaded fans 'couldn't care less' about the spin-off's return | Tech Radar

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Netflix reveals Stranger Things: Tales From 85 season 2 renewal and surprise late 2026 release window — but jaded fans 'couldn't care less' about the spin-off's return

'Netflix is gonna milk this cow until it’s bone dry'

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Tales From 85's debut season hasn't gone down well with plenty of Stranger Things fans (Image credit: Netflix)

Stranger Things: Tales From 85 season 2 has been announced

Surprisingly, it's already confirmed to premiere in late 2026

Netflix users have had plenty to say about the spin-off's renewal

Stranger Things: Tales From 85 season 2 has been announced by Netflix — but, even though it's already confirmed to arrive in late 2026, there doesn't seem to be much in the way of audience appetite for it.

Less than a week after Stranger Things' latest spin-off premiered, Netflix not only revealed it had renewed Tales From 85 for a second season, but also that it would come out before the end of the year. The world's best streaming service has released a brief teaser for the animated offshoot's next installment, too, which you can watch below:

There's a haunting in Hawkins... Stranger Things: Tales From ‘85 Season 2. Coming this fall! pic.twitter.com/j FZGNB57m 8 April 28, 2026

For those who might have missed it: Stranger Things: Tales From 85 is set between the main show's second and third seasons, and follows the Hawkins crew as they investigate a new supernatural mystery that threatens their home town.

Stranger Things: Tales From '85 has a trailer — but fans aren't sure about it

Stranger Things: Tales From 85 review — an unnecessary spin-off that'll infuriate long-time fans

Stranger Things: Tales from '85 — release date, trailer, cast, plot, and everything we know about the Netflix spin-off

Has your interest been piqued by the above synopsis? Read my Stranger Things: Tales From 85 review, which covers all 10 episodes in a spoiler-free capacity, to see if it's actually worth streaming.

Why have Netflix users reacted negatively to Tales From 85's renewal?

Of all the series in the world, this is the one they’ve decided to renew? It’s so poorly made; it’s got nothing to do with "Stranger Things". It’s just ruining the franchise. April 28, 2026

For Tales From 85, it's a good job that Netflix gave it a two-season order ahead of its debut season's arrival. That's because, based on online reactions to the interquel's release in late April, it's not exactly been the success story that Netflix might have hoped it would be.

Tales From 85 was already fighting a losing battle pre-launch. Indeed, whether it was the fanbase's collective eyebrow raising over its timeline placement, Stranger Things' cast not returning to voice animated versions of their characters in this spin-off, or a growing sense of weariness over the IP's franchisification, diehard and casual viewers didn't seem all that interested in the show.

The final Netflix Top 10 report of April 2026 proved this was the case, too. Tales From 85 accrued just 13.8 million hours streamed and an absolutely terrible 2.3 million views in its first five days on Netflix.

To put that into context, the critically-panned second season of Kate Hudson's sports comedy show Running Point secured 25.2 million hours and 5.3 million views. Meanwhile, new religious thriller Unchosen amassed 46.9 million hours and almost 10.5 million views.

Netflix has tried to play off Tales From 85 as a success — the streaming titan boasting that it placed 7th in this week's Top 10 most-watched shows list and it's one of the 15 best debuts for an animated series on the service. However, with such a poor start to life on Netflix, it's likely that Tales From 85 wouldn't have been renewed for another installment if it hadn't already been approved prior to season 1's release.

Sure, it might have had the backing of executives looking to further profit on the Stranger Things brand but, when you consider myriad other shows have been canceled even though they were far more successful than Tales From 85, you've got to wonder if, based on these initial viewing figures, a second season would've been given the green light.

The problem Netflix now faces is trying to win fans back onside. Indeed, threads on r/Stranger Things and r/Television are full of comments from apathetic fans asking why another season is necessary. Posts from users on other social platforms, such as X/Twitter, are similarly damning of Tales From 85 and Netflix's desire to continue flogging what fans say is a dead horse in the Stranger Things IP.

In the interest of balance, there are those who enjoyed Tales From 85 season 1 and want to spend more time with Eleven, Mike, and company later this year. Those positive reactions are significantly outweighed by their negative counterparts, though. It'll be interesting to see, then, if Tales From 85 gets a season 3 renewal after season 2 premieres, or whether Netflix will bring down the ax on this animated offshoot.

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As Tech Radar's senior entertainment reporter, Tom covers all of the latest movies, TV shows, and streaming service news that you need to know about. You'll regularly find him writing about the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Star Wars, Netflix, Prime Video, Disney Plus, and many other topics of interest.

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