There’s more Stranger Things to come: What the Duffer Brothers are working on next

Dubai: Now that Stranger Things has wrapped up its final season, fans are facing a familiar problem: what do you watch when there's no more Hawkins to return to? The good news is that Matt and Ross Duffer aren't done telling stories, and they've got several new projects lined up at Netflix.

Whilst you're rewatching Season 1 for the tenth time, here's what the Duffer Brothers have been working on to help fill that Stranger Things-shaped gap in your life.

The most obvious choice for fans missing the original gang is an animated series set right in the Stranger Things universe. Tales From '85, created by Eric Robles with the Duffer Brothers, takes place during the stark winter of 1985, fitting neatly between Seasons 2 and 3 of the main show.

The series will follow the characters fans already know and love as they fight new monsters and solve a paranormal mystery threatening their town. But because it's animated, the creators have more freedom to go bigger with the supernatural elements.

"With animation, there are really no limits," Ross Duffer says in a first-look video released on Stranger Things Day. "Eric and his team can just go wild, and they have."

The voice cast includes Brooklyn Davey Norstedt as Eleven, Jolie Hoang-Rappaport as Max, Luca Diaz as Mike, Elisha "EJ" Williams as Lucas, Braxton Quinney as Dustin, Benjamin Plessala as Will, and Brett Gipson as Hopper.

Tales From '85 is expected to arrive sometime in 2026, though no specific date has been announced yet.

For something completely different, the Duffer Brothers are producing The Boroughs, an eight-episode drama about elderly residents in a New Mexico retirement community who face an otherworldly threat.

Set in what appears to be a peaceful desert community, the series follows a group of unlikely heroes who must work together to stop something supernatural from stealing the one thing they don't have much of: time.

Jeffrey Addiss and Will Matthews, who worked on The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance, are creating and running the show, with the Duffers producing. In a statement, the brothers said: "While the heroes in The Boroughs have a few more years on them than the kids from Stranger Things, they are a similarly lovable bunch of misfits, and we can't wait for you to join them on an adventure that is at turns scary, funny, and deeply touching."

The cast is impressive. Alfred Molina plays Sam, Geena Davis plays Renee, and Alfre Woodard plays Judy. Also starring are Denis O'Hare as Wally, Clarke Peters as Art, Bill Pullman as Jack, and Jena Malone as Claire. Supporting cast includes Carlos Miranda, Seth Numrich, Alice Kremelberg, Rafael Casal, Dee Wallace, Ed Begley Jr., Jane Kaczmarek, Eric Edelstein, and Mousa Hussein Kraish.

No release date has been set yet, but with that cast, it's one to watch out for.

The title pretty much tells you everything you need to know. This atmospheric horror series follows a bride and groom during the week leading up to their wedding. And as you might guess from both the title and the word "ill-fated," things don't go smoothly.

Haley Z. Boston will serve as showrunner and executive producer, with the Duffer Brothers producing through their Upside Down Pictures deal with Netflix. The brothers were clearly impressed with Boston's work, saying: "We were knocked flat when we first read Haley's script. She is a major new talent with a singular voice. Her writing is twisted, terrifying, funny, and just very Haley. We feel so lucky to be producing her first show, and we can't wait to share her vision with the rest of the world."

The cast includes Camila Morrone as the bride and Adam DiMarco as the groom, with supporting roles from Jennifer Jason Leigh, Ted Levine, Gus Birney, Jeff Wilbusch, Karla Crome, and Zlatko Burić.

Like The Boroughs, this one doesn't have a release date yet, but it's clearly in the works.

All three projects show the Duffer Brothers branching out whilst staying in their comfort zone of supernatural stories and misfit characters. Tales From '85 gives fans more of what they love from Stranger Things, The Boroughs applies similar themes to an older cast, and Something Very Bad Is Going to Happen lets them explore pure horror.

It's worth noting that whilst the Duffers are directly creating Tales From '85, they're executive producing the other two shows, which means they'll have oversight but won't be as hands-on with the day-to-day writing and production.

Still, if you're missing Stranger Things, you've got at least three new shows coming from the same creative minds. Tales From '85 should arrive first in 2026, with the others following whenever Netflix decides to release them.s