Netflix's 'Stranger Things' Animated Spinoff 'Tales From '85' Fails to Justify Its Existence

Aired: April 23, 2026

By Alison Herman, TV Critic

Review

Most television spinoffs serve a clear creative purpose—they either propel storylines forward into new territory, much like the Frasier revival following beloved characters beyond their original narrative, or they venture backward to explore formative backstories of established locations and figures, a strategy employed by recent Game of Thrones prequel series. Some spinoffs even move laterally, transplanting core concepts into alternate settings and time periods within the same fictional universe, following the well-trodden path of procedural franchises such as CSI and Law & Order.

Netflix's new animated offering Tales From '85, however, struggles to identify any such direction, instead presenting itself as a pessimistic and repetitive retreat into familiar territory that adds little meaningful value to the Stranger Things universe.