Picture Credit: Netflix
We are just weeks away from our return to Hawkins. As you probably know, all 10 episodes of the brand-new animated spin-off Stranger Things: Tales from ’85 are set to drop on Netflix globally on April 23rd. But ever since the show was first announced, there’s been one massive, Demogorgon-sized elephant in the room: Is this show actually canon?
For months, fan accounts have been debating the question. After all, it’s got all the core characters from the main live-action series, and from what’s already been revealed (such as the inclusion of new monsters, mystery, and of course, Nikki Baxter), there are a lot of questions the show has to answer. When the show was first announced, the Duffers called it a callback to 80s cartoons, which often sat outside of the canon of the properties they were based on. To that end, during Annecy, I saw this as just a fun spin-off, set in the actual world but an anthology-esque adventure. Since then, whether or not the show is part of the official lore has become an important question.
One fan account declared back in February: “CONFIRMED: ‘STRANGER THINGS: TALES FROM ’85’ is canon in the Stranger Things universe.” Is that actually the case (they omitted any sources), or are they making it up?
Thanks to a fantastic new interview with showrunner Eric Robles at IGN (conducted by Alex Zalben), we finally have (some) concrete answers. Let’s dive into what we learned and figure out how these new adventures fit into the broader Stranger Things universe.
The Timeline Problem
As we’ve covered previously here at What’s on Netflix, Tales from ’85 is set snugly between Seasons 2 and 3 of the flagship live-action series. But here’s the head-scratcher: at the end of Season 2, Eleven famously closed the gate to the Upside Down. Things were supposed to be relatively quiet for our favorite Hawkins crew until the Mind Flayer started acting up in the summer of 1985.
So, how are Eleven, Mike, Dustin, Lucas, Will, and Max battling brand-new supernatural threats—like the newly revealed “pumpkin creatures”—during a time of supposed peace?
Picture Credit: Netflix
“We Respect the Canon”
When pressed about the show’s canon status, Robles was quick to defend their approach, reassuring fans that they didn’t just throw the rulebook out the window.
“We respect the canon of it, all right? We respect that,” Robles stated. However, he acknowledged the creative challenge of setting a high-stakes, monster-of-the-week show during a period when the kids were canonically just hanging out and playing arcade games. The solution? Creating a contained “mini-universe” within that timeline gap.
“We are frozen in time between these two seasons, 2 and 3,” Robles explained. “But within this frozen time, we’re now going to expand this… mini-universe of Tales from ’85 in a way that it does go big”.
Why Does Nobody Mention Pumpkin Creatures Later?
If the kids go on these massive, dangerous adventures in Tales from ’85, why on earth do they never bring it up during the chaotic events of Seasons 3, 4, or the recently wrapped Season 5?
Robles has a practical answer for that: the Hawkins crew simply had bigger fish to fry.
“I don’t remember them talking about pumpkin creatures in Season 3 or 4 or 5, right?” Robles pointed out. “First of all, I didn’t know that the show was going to exist while that was going on, but at the same time, the kids have bigger things to worry about. By the time you’re getting to Season 4, you’re worrying about Vecna. You’re worrying about bigger things than pumpkin creatures… And a lot of times they don’t go back reminiscing about too many things that happen in [previous] seasons”.
To that end, Robles views the animated series as a “lost season” of the show. To ensure the narrative tissue actually connects, the creative team brought in Stranger Things writer and director’s assistant Caitlin Schneiderhan as a story editor. They were careful to ensure the characters end up exactly where they need to be by the time the Starcourt Mall (something that gets numerous easter eggs in the animated show while its under construction) opens its doors in Season 3.
But Robles also made one incredibly telling statement about how fans should ultimately view the show’s place in the timeline:
“Now you can easily remove this whole series out of the timeline and it never exists. Or… Do you want to hang out with your best friends and go on new adventures?”
Picture Credit: Netflix
The Verdict: It’s “Soft Canon”
So, what’s the takeaway here? Stranger Things: Tales from ’85 is probably best described as “soft canon” or “optional canon.”
The Duffer Brothers gave it their blessing, and the writers made sure it doesn’t break the starting point of Season 3. They are even using this space to give Will some much-needed emotional development. While he feels like a “zombie boy” third wheel to the newly minted Mike/Eleven and Lucas/Max romances, he’ll bond with a brand-new character named Nikki Baxter (voiced by Odessa A’zion).
However, because the events of this series are never referenced in the main live-action show, you don’t have to watch it to understand the core Stranger Things story. But if you’re craving more 80s nostalgia, high-stakes adventures (Robles has name-dropped The Goonies and Ghostbusters as inspirations repeatedly), and want to spend more time with the Hawkins Investigators Club, this show is built exactly for you.
Are you okay with the animated series being a “lost season” that you can optionally remove from the timeline? Will you be checking out Tales from ’85? Let us know in the comments down below!
