After five seasons, the hit sci-fi horror series Stranger Things ended on December 31, 2025. The show first appeared on Netflix in 2016 and quickly became one of the platform’s biggest successes. It created a detailed and fascinating world with the Upside Down, and helped make stars of actors like Millie Bobby Brown, David Harbour, Finn Wolfhard, Sadie Sink, and Joseph Quinn.
Whether people loved or hated the final season of Stranger Things, the show’s ending definitely marked a significant moment for both Netflix and the world of streaming television. It’s rare for a show to become as popular as Stranger Things did over almost ten years. Now that the story is over – Vecna is defeated, the Upside Down is gone, and the characters are starting new lives – fans are likely looking for their next favorite show.
Now that Stranger Things is over, there are three shows on Netflix that can help fill the gap. They either expand on similar themes or offer the same kind of immersive, detailed world. While two of these are excellent choices, one isn’t quite as strong.
The Boroughs Shares Traits In Common With Stranger Things (& Is A Netflix Hit)
Beyond sharing executive producers (the Duffer Brothers), The Boroughs and Stranger Things have a similar premise. Like Stranger Things, which featured kids and teens facing monsters in a small town, The Boroughs focuses on a community—this time, a retirement community in New Mexico—being terrorized by scary, supernatural beings.
The problems don’t end with the monsters. Similar to Stranger Things, the creatures causing chaos in The Boroughs are linked to evil actions committed by human villains. After one of their group is murdered, a small team of retirees and their loved ones are the only ones who can stop both the monsters and the humans responsible.
Like the first season of Stranger Things, the first season of The Boroughs has a conclusive ending that could work as a standalone story. But the show is also very popular on Netflix, so while a second season hasn’t been confirmed, its recent success suggests we might see the show return to resolve its remaining questions, possibly even for multiple seasons.
Netflix’s Mega-Popular Wednesday Will Become More Like Stranger Things In Season 3
Originally intended as another take on The Addams Family, Wednesday quickly became a huge cultural phenomenon. Starring Jenna Ortega, the Netflix series has arguably become as popular as Stranger Things, and perhaps even more so. The show cleverly updates familiar Addams Family themes while also giving Wednesday Addams, the teenage daughter, space to develop her own unique story.
The first two seasons of Wednesday already include plenty of supernatural elements, but season 3 will broaden the scope of the story. Wednesday will travel to Paris and other locations, similar to how Stranger Things season 4 kept the focus on Hawkins while also exploring storylines in Russia and California. This wider world will allow for more varied and interesting stories.
Interestingly, both Stranger Things and Wednesday share a cast member: Winona Ryder. Known for her role as Joyce Byers in Stranger Things, Ryder will appear in season three of Wednesday as Tabitha. This marks another collaboration between Ryder, Jenna Ortega, and director Tim Burton, as they recently worked together on the 2024 film Beetlejuice Beetlejuice. Burton also previously directed Ryder in the original Beetlejuice, Edward Scissorhands, and Frankenweenie.
Tales From ’85 Couldn’t Live Up To Stranger Things
Fans of Stranger Things have more to enjoy! In addition to the stage show Stranger Things: The First Shadow now being available on Netflix, a new animated series called Stranger Things Tales from ’85 premiered in April 2026. This series is a prequel set between seasons 2 and 3, and it follows the main characters – including a new character named Nikki Baxter – as they face fresh threats from the Upside Down.
A positive aspect of Stranger Things: Tales from ’85 is its lighter, more family-friendly tone, intentionally inspired by classic Saturday morning cartoons. This makes the Stranger Things universe more approachable for younger viewers who might find the main show too scary. However, overall, Tales from ’85 doesn’t quite live up to the standards of the original series.
The animated series has received generally mixed reviews from critics. It currently has a 63% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, while viewers give it an even lower score of 52%. A review from ScreenRant gave the series 5 out of 10 stars, criticizing it for not having a clear purpose.
The second season of Stranger Things: Tales from ’85 is coming out later this year, and hopefully, it will be better received than the previous season. Currently, it doesn’t quite live up to the high quality of Stranger Things’ earlier seasons. If you’re looking for something to watch instead, The Boroughs or Wednesday – or both – would be good choices.
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2026-06-02 01:39