New 'Stranger Things' Series Ordered at Netflix
Netflix is expanding the Stranger Things franchise with an animated series. The streamer greenlit the new show, which Flying Bark Productions and executive producer Eric Robles are developing. Stranger Things will end with its upcoming fifth season, which starts producing next month.
The streamer is keeping quiet about what this new project is about. The animated series also does not have a title. Stranger Things creators Matt Duffer and Ross Duffer are involved as executive producers for Upside Down Pictures. Shawn Levy and Dan Cohen of 21 Laps and Robles are also executive producing.
"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," the Duffer Brothers said Monday 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."
Since Stranger Things has grown to become Netflix's flagship series, it's unsurprising that the streamer would want to expand the franchise. The Duffer Brothers began laying the foundation for expansion last year when they launched Upise Down Pictures and committed to developing more projects for Netflix, Deadline reported in July. The Duffer Brothers hired former MRC executive Hilary Leavitt to run the studio.
The first slate of projects for Upside Down included a stage play set within the world of Stranger Things, produced by Stephen Daldry, Sonia Friedman, and Netflix, and written by Kate Trefry. A live-action Stranger Things spinoff is also in development. Upside Down is also developing a new live-action series adaptation of Death Note; a new series from Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance creators Jeffrey Addiss and Will Matthews; and a series based on The Talisman by Stephen King and Peter Straub.
Stranger Things launched in July 2016. After a long break, the show returned for a super-sized fourth season last year. It included nine episodes released in two parts, with many of the episodes nearing feature-film length. Stranger Things has won 12 Primetime Emmys and has been nominated for Outstanding Drama Series four times. David Harbour and Millie Bobby Brown have both earned multiple Emmy nods for their performances.
The series is set in the 1980s and focuses on a small Indiana town plagued by the alternate dimension known as the Upside Down after a human experimentation facility opens a portal. The cast also includes Winona Ryder, Finn Wolfhard, Gaten Matarazzo, Caleb McLaughlin, Natalia Dyer, and Charlie Heaton. In November, Netflix revealed that Season 5 Episode 1 will be titled "Chapter One: The Crawl."