Stranger Things is getting an animated series on Netflix

By Blair Marnell April 10, 2023

We’re still a long time away from Stranger Things season 5, but that hasn’t stopped Netflix from releasing more news about their biggest original franchise. While the prospect of spinoffs has been teased before, it’s never been quite like this. Deadline is reporting that Netflix has given the green light to a Stranger Things animated series. Matt and Ross Duffer, the creators of Stranger Things, will executive produce the series, which will feature Eric Robles as the showrunner.

“We’ve always dreamed of an animated Stranger Things in the vein of the Saturday morning cartoons that we grew up loving, and to see this dream realized has been absolutely thrilling,” said the Duffer brothers in a statement. “We couldn’t be more blown away by what Eric Robles and his team have come up with — the scripts and artwork are incredible, and we can’t wait to share more with you! The adventure continues.”

The cast of Stranger Things. — Image used with permission by copyright holder

Now, some outlets have suggested that this new show will take its cues from 1980s cartoons like Masters of the Universe or G.I. Joe. But as anyone who lived through the ’80s should know, those animated series were never on Saturday mornings. Instead, the Saturday morning animated adaptations of Gilligan’s Island, Happy Days, Punky Brewster, took some very comical liberties with their source material.

For example, Gilligan’s Planet sent the castaways into space, The Fonz and the Happy Days Gang was a full-on sci-fi time travel series, and Punky befriended a strange creature called Glomer in It’s Punky Brewster. If the Stranger Things cartoon is really taking its cue from the ’80s cartoons, it could take on some bizarre directions of its own.

For now, the exact premise of the Stranger Things animated series is unknown. But the animation will be handled by Flying Bark Productions, the same company that produced What If…? for Marvel Studios and Disney+.

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Blair Marnell has been an entertainment journalist for over 15 years. His bylines have appeared in Wizard Magazine, Geek…

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