Netflix has ordered Other Worlds: A Stranger Things Adventure, a live-action prequel series set in the 1950s, and it premieres on Netflix in 2028. The streamer announced the series today, November 6, on Stranger Things Day. Shawn Levy executive produces through his company 21 Laps, and Joe Wright directs the first three episodes.
The story takes place before the events of the original series and before the stage play Stranger Things: The First Shadow. The series has an all-new cast of characters, and none of the Hawkins kids return. Netflix has not released a plot synopsis or announced any casting.
The Teaser
Netflix released a short announcement teaser alongside the news. It opens on an old bike with a boom box strapped to it, playing “Sh-Boom (Life Could Be a Dream)” by The Chords. The camera tilts up to a cloudy sky as a title card reads “April 19, 1955, Marion, Nevada,” and then a thunderous crack splits the sky open on what looks like another version of the Upside Down. That date puts the series roughly 30 years before Will Byers disappears in Hawkins in 1983.
Who Is Making It
Matt and Ross Duffer co-created Other Worlds with Kate Trefry, a longtime writer on Stranger Things and the playwright behind The First Shadow, which won a Tony Award. Trefry is the writer and showrunner. The Duffers executive produce through Upside Down Pictures but are not running the show day to day. They are under an exclusive overall deal at Paramount, and their Stranger Things work is carved out of that agreement.
Levy, an executive producer and director on the original series for its entire run, recently left Netflix for an overall deal at Disney’s 20th Television. He stays on the Stranger Things universe as an executive producer on Other Worlds, but he is not directing. Paul Dichter, Shelley Meals, Andrea Sperling and Pavlina Hatoupis also executive produce. “All of us at 21Laps are thrilled and privileged to be continuing the storytelling legacy of Stranger Things,” Levy said.
Wright, the director of Pride & Prejudice, Atonement and Darkest Hour, directs the first three episodes and also executive produces. The series films in New Mexico.
“We’ve been dreaming of Other Worlds: A Stranger Things Adventure for many years now, and to see it become a reality is surreal and exhilarating,” the Duffers said in a statement.
Trefry said the Duffers gave her first paid job in Hollywood. She added that with the backing of Netflix and 21 Laps, the team has been able to go back to the horror and mystery of the original while telling a completely new story, one she hopes will “blow your minds and break your hearts all over again.”
Jinny Howe, Netflix’s head of scripted series for the US and Canada, said the show “has always belonged to the fans.”
How It Fits the Franchise
The Duffers first talked about a live-action spinoff during the press run for the fifth and final season, describing it as being in very early days. In October 2025, Matt Duffer said the plan was to keep the spirit of the original (kids, adventure, sci-fi and fantasy) instead of piling more onto an already dense mythology.
Other Worlds is the second Stranger Things TV spinoff. The animated Stranger Things: Tales From ’85, set in Hawkins during the winter between Seasons 2 and 3, premiered on Netflix on April 23, 2026, and was renewed for a second season shortly after. The franchise also includes The First Shadow, live experiences at Netflix House and a line of books.
Stranger Things premiered on Netflix in July 2016 and ended its five-season run in 2025. Seasons 1 through 4 have passed 1.2 billion views, and the fifth season had the biggest premiere week ever for a Netflix English-language series.
Netflix has not announced a specific premiere date, episode count or cast for Other Worlds.
Sources: Deadline | Variety | The Hollywood Reporter | TheWrap | TVLine | Tom’s Guide
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