Critics disliked Tales from '85, and Netflix is back with ten more episodes on 17 September

Right, like it or not, Stranger Things isn’t going anywhere. Just as you’ve finally managed to forget about the horror of the Upside Down, Netflix has queued up more. Last year we got Stranger Things: Tales from '85 – the animated spin-off that turned a few heads, not always for the right reasons – and now, less than eighteen months later, Season 2 is about to drop.

Season 2 of Stranger Things: Tales from '85 lands on Netflix Thursday, 17 September, 2026.

Back to Hawkins Again (But Animated)

If you missed it the first time, Tales from '85 took the formula everyone knows – average Midwestern kids, mysterious government nonsense, and monsters oozing out of interdimensional cracks – threw it into a blender, and ladled out an animated version set in a slightly tweaked Hawkins. Think: same old, but now the canon’s taken a few dents. The main gang’s the usual lot – Eleven (voiced by Brooklyn Davey Norstedt), Max (Jolie Hoang-Rappaport), Lucas (Elisha EJ Williams), Will (Benjamin Plessala), and Mike (Luca Diaz). New recruit Nikki Baxter (Odessa A'zion), launched straight into the heart of monster central, was meant to freshen things up.

Reviews? Let’s just say critics didn’t exactly cheer, but Netflix wasted no time ordering Season 2 – rapid renewals clearly their thing lately. Can’t blame them, though, as the series delivered a few surprises, including a much-needed expanded role for Will. It did, however, start fiddling with core Stranger Things lore, and if you care about keeping storylines straight, it’s all starting to feel a bit patchwork.

Season 2: New Plot, Familiar Faces

The new episodes drop you right back into Hawkins – still animated, still glowing in that odd, washed-out neon palette that strangely suits the '80s setting. Eleven and friends are blissfully ignoring their recent dalliances with death, until, naturally, they spot some odd flowers cropping up around town. (If you’ve learned nothing by now, never trust the flora.)

Nikki remains the headline addition, with her ‘new kid in town’ arc running in parallel to what Max did several seasons ago. The writers have leaned hard into making Nikki more than a Max knock-off; she properly gets to stick around thanks to her mother deciding Hawkins isn’t so bad after all. It’s hardly reinventing character drama, but at least the effort’s there, and you do find yourself hoping Nikki and Will get more awkward bonding time this year. Will, for the record, finally seems to get the proper growth and vulnerability he was denied in the original run.

This year, in what actually feels like a clever twist, the story’s set in February and the big mystery is unfolding right around Valentine’s Day. That means monsters and emotional hand-wringing walk hand-in-hand, because apparently even in other dimensions, romance is a nightmare. The show's still a coming-of-age story at its core – just with the occasional deadly tentacle for seasoning.

What the Showrunner Thinks

Showrunner Eric Robles has been refreshingly candid about the creative process. Here’s how he explained the draw in a chat with Nexus Point News:

"But what really started happening for us was the joy. We started hanging out with our friends. Hanging out with Mike, hanging out with Eleven, hanging out with Dustin, and going on new adventures was so much fun."

A Few Lingering Issues

With all ten episodes dropping at once, there’s no denying the binge value. But while the speedy turnaround between seasons makes sense for keeping the hype alive, the trade-off is more hand-wavy retcons and canon tangles that’ll have die-hards (and anyone with a sensible memory) squinting at plot points. As someone who’s watched Stranger Things twist itself into knots before, all I’m hoping is the second season leans into what works – proper character moments, bold monster designs, and keeping Hawkins weird enough to be recognisable, but not completely incomprehensible.