Netflix’s animated spinoff earns warmth from some reviewers and sharp criticism from others
Netflix’s animated spinoff Stranger Things: Tales From ’85 arrived to a divided critical reception this week, with some reviewers finding it a worthy extension of the beloved franchise and others dismissing it as a hollow exercise in nostalgia recycling. The series carries aggregate scores of 70% on Rotten Tomatoes and 51 on Metacritic, numbers that tell the story of a show fighting to justify its own existence.
Set between Seasons 2 and 3 of the original series, Tales From ’85 follows Mike, Dustin, Lucas, Will, Max, and Eleven through a fresh wave of supernatural trouble in Hawkins, Indiana. The cast has been replaced with new voice actors, the animation leans on modern CGI rather than the hand-drawn style of the 1980s cartoons the characters grew up watching, and a new character named Nikki joins the group as a pink-mohawked punk with a sharp personality. Otherwise, the structure is familiar by design.
The case for watching
Critics who responded positively pointed to the show’s visual energy and its ability to recapture the warmth of the original. Writing for Collider, Greer Riddell called the series fun-filled and entertaining, describing the lighting and color palette as a consistent hook and singling out the character designs as a highlight.
Robert Lloyd of the Los Angeles Times took a similar view, noting that stripping away the adult subplots and interpersonal drama of the later seasons leaves something leaner and more focused. He described the world of Hawkins as completely recognizable in its settings, product placements, and period music while feeling visually distinct enough to stand on its own terms. In his reading, the series manages to feel both familiar and fresh.
The case against
The more skeptical reviews were considerably sharper. Writing for Variety, Alison Herman called Tales From ’85 a cynical retread and argued that the series exists primarily to allow Netflix to continue profiting from the franchise long after the original cast has aged out of their roles. In her view, a show that was already built on nostalgia has now produced a spinoff that traffics in nostalgia for the original, with diminishing returns at each step.
Angie Han of The Hollywood Reporter landed somewhere between measured and disappointed. She described the series as dull and unambitious overall, with one meaningful exception. New character Nikki, voiced by Odessa A’zion, brings enough freshness and charm that Han found herself wishing the original show had invented her in time for a live-action version. That single bright spot, however, was not enough to carry a spinoff that otherwise delivers more of the same with less of the spark.
A sharper verdict
The most pointed critique came from Brian Tallerico at RogerEbert.com, who described Tales From ’85 as a waste of time that ignores every opportunity to do something inventive in favor of lazy plotting and inconsistent characterization. He acknowledged a handful of interesting choices in character design but concluded that the series amounts to little more than a shadow of things audiences once loved, with no vision for where the franchise should go next.
What the spinoff is really doing
Beyond the reviews, Tales From ’85 raises a structural question that critics touched on repeatedly. By replacing the original cast with voice actors, Netflix has effectively removed the natural endpoint that aging imposes on a show about children. The gang can stay frozen in 1985 indefinitely, fighting creatures from the Upside Down without anyone growing up or moving on. Whether that reads as a creative opportunity or a cynical workaround depends almost entirely on how much goodwill the viewer brings to the screen.
All eight episodes of Stranger Things: Tales From ’85 are now streaming on Netflix.