HOME / ENTERTAINMENT / TV

Netflix sets ‘Stranger Things: Tales from ‘85’ release date and it's sooner than fans may expect

'Stranger Things: Tales from '85' season two will arrive in fall with a new challenge for HIC

'Stranger Things: Tales From '85' came out to the world in April 2026. Since then, this Hawkins saga has developed a dedicated fanbase. The series debuted at number seven on the streamer's top ten lists and was also among the top 15 animated series debuts of all time. However, fans will not have to wait long for its next installment. Netflix recently announced that the animated series will return with its second season on September 17, 2026. The update is a bit surprising for the fanbase, as they are used to waiting for years between seasons of the flagship show. According to the press release, the sophomore installment will pick up right after the events of the first season. 

The official logline for season two confirms the appearance of a new mystery. "Eleven (voiced by Brooklyn Davey Norstedt), Mike (Luca Diaz), Will (Benjamin Plessala), Dustin (Braxton Quinney), Lucas (Elisha “EJ” Williams), Max (Jolie Hoang-Rappaport), and Nikki (Odessa A’zion) resume their regular activities of arcade gaming, HIC missions, and preparing for the upcoming Valentine’s Day festivities. There’s just one problem: A strange new phenomenon is surfacing all over their town of Hawkins, Indiana," the logline reads. Showrunner Eric Robles describes the new phenomenon as 'flowers,' which are coming up all across the town. The flowers in question look stunning on the outside but harbor a supernatural secret. 

Season one ended with the gang defeating the Horde Queen by trapping her in the Upside Down. In the final moments, a flower unfurls from the creature's corpse, revealing a Demogorgon's maw. “All of it is still connected to the Upside Down, so there is the DNA of Upside Down creatures in all of our creatures,” Robles previously shared about the new creatures (Horde Queen). “It’s like Hawkins Lab science meets Upside Down matter. When you put them together, those are the kinds of creatures we have in our world.” These creatures release green spores after death, which, after interacting with the organic matter spread across Hawkins, create a hybrid entity. The aforementioned flower could be one such hybrid, and many such may make their way in the sophomore installment. 

The showrunner further shared how these flowers will find their way into a larger area. “Nikki and Max are scheming to sell the flowers all over Hawkins,” Robles added. “Now [they] are going to be everywhere, which creates a bigger problem.” The press release also revealed that the new season will see 'ghostly apparitions' and 'hate sprites' taking over the town. The gang needs to find the mystery behind these appearances, or otherwise a new gate to the Upside Down may soon pop open. The 'Hawkins Investigators Club' will find itself in both familiar and strange places. “What's really exciting is we're going to go places that we haven't been to before,” Robles explained. “There's a mine in Hawkins that we haven't explored yet.” All episodes of 'Stranger Things: Tales From '85' are currently streaming on Netflix.