Netflix has ordered Other Worlds: A Stranger Things Adventure to series. The prequel spinoff is set in the 1950s and will debut in 2028. The news landed on Stranger Things Day, the annual fan celebration of the date Will Byers disappeared: November 6, 1983.
A teaser confirms the setting: Marion, Nevada, in 1955. That is decades before the events in Hawkins, Indiana, and before the stage play Stranger Things: The First Shadow, which explores Henry Creel’s past in 1959. The Duffer Brothers have said the story will focus on the time before Henry Creel was exposed to the otherworldly substance that gave him his powers. Plot details are otherwise scarce, and casting has not begun.
Who Is Making It
Matt and Ross Duffer co-created the series with Kate Trefry, a Stranger Things writer since Season 2 who also wrote The First Shadow. Trefry is showrunner and executive producer. Joe Wright, the BAFTA and Golden Globe winner behind Pride & Prejudice, Atonement and Darkest Hour, will direct the first three episodes and executive produce. Shawn Levy of 21 Laps, Paul Dichter, Shelley Meals, Andrea Sperling and Pavlina Hatoupis are also executive producers. Filming will take place in New Mexico.
The Duffers produce through Upside Down Pictures. The show is a carve-out from their overall deal at Paramount, which they joined after their Netflix deal expired in April 2026.
“It’s Stranger Things, but also thrillingly fresh, with a new setting, new heroes and villains, and new… actually, we’re not allowed to say any more,” the Duffers said. “Now, on to casting. In the meantime, watch the skies, nerds!”
Trefry said the Duffers “gave me my first paying job in Hollywood.” She promised a “wholly new story” that will “blow your minds and break your hearts all over again.”
Levy said the show has “an all-new ensemble,” with “the seeds of which may have been planted in Hawkins.” Jinny Howe, Netflix’s head of scripted series for the US and Canada, said the show offers fans “a new dimension of this universe to step into.”
A Growing Universe
This is the fourth project in the franchise. The flagship series ended at the close of 2025. The animated series Stranger Things: Tales From ‘85 is streaming, and The First Shadow is on stage. The spinoff was first reported in 2022.
The original show has drawn more than 1.2 billion views across its first four seasons. Seasons 4 and 5 rank among Netflix’s most-watched TV seasons ever. Fans can also visit immersive experiences at Netflix House Philadelphia and Dallas.
The First Shadow ends its West End run at the Phoenix Theatre on December 27. Its Broadway run at the Marquis Theatre ends on January 3, 2027.
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