Netflix Orders Stranger Things Prequel Other Worlds to Series

Netflix has ordered a new Stranger Things spinoff, and it steps back in time. Variety reported on 6 November 2026 that the streamer has ordered Other Worlds: A Stranger Things Adventure to series. That is a straight-to-series order, meaning Netflix has committed to a full series rather than testing a single pilot episode first.

The show is a prequel, set in the 1950s before the events of Stranger Things and Stranger Things: The First Shadow. It is set in 1955, in Marion, Nevada. The production will film in New Mexico. The show is set to debut in 2028.

Matt Duffer, Ross Duffer and Kate Trefry are the co-creators. Trefry will serve as showrunner, the writer who runs the creative side of the series day to day, and will also executive produce. Joe Wright will direct the first three episodes and executive produce.

The Duffer Brothers are executive producing under their Upside Down Pictures banner. Variety also reported that the project is a carve-out of the brothers' current overall deal at Paramount. An overall deal is a long-term contract in which a studio pays a creator to develop projects for it. A carve-out means this project sits outside that arrangement.

The original Stranger Things ended its run at the end of 2025. The spinoff was first reported to be in the works in 2022, which means it has taken about four years to reach a series order. That gap is typical for a project of this size, with writing, casting and location work all needing time before cameras roll.

For viewers, the news points to a different kind of story. Instead of picking up where the main series left off, Other Worlds goes back to a period before it. The 2028 debut is the only date so far, and no further casting or episode count has been announced.

For the people working on it, a series order is the start of a long process. Scripts, sets, locations in New Mexico and a full crew all have to come together before the first episode reaches a screen.