Stranger Things: Tales From '85 Timeline Explained

Spoilers for "Stranger Things" ahead. 

The "Stranger Things" series finale might've concluded on an unsatisfying note, but it brought about the end of a long, arduous journey for its beloved characters. While these fates seem to be set in stone, Netflix isn't done with the Upside Down or the creatures that reside within it. A new teaser for the franchise animated spin-off, "Stranger Things: Tales from '85," gives us a glimpse into new mysteries plaguing Hawkins, Indiana. As inferred from the series title, the events of this new story will be set in 1985. For context, 1984 ended with the Hawkins Middle Snow Ball on December 15, with a glimpse of The Mind Flayer looming in the distance.

But where exactly do the events of "Tales from '85" fit with regard to the primary timeline? This new animated story is supposed to take place between the events of seasons 2 and 3, immediately after the Snow Ball and the opening of Starcourt Mall. Showrunner Eric Robles ("The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy") told TUDUM that the animated show lingers on the "sense of young love" between Mike (voiced by Luca Diaz) and Eleven (Brooklyn Davey Norstedt) after their first kiss at the Snow Ball, and how friendships deepen over the course of the year. While season 3 of "Stranger Things" explored similar sentiments, "Tales from '85" takes more time to streamline these relationships before diving into the horrors collectively unraveled by the group.

Robles also notes that Dustin (Braxton Quinney) establishes the Hawkins Investigators Club during this time period, which doesn't happen in the parent series. With this fresh development, we might be privy to a case-of-the-week approach that will tie into a grander mystery, allowing everyone to spend more time together as a united front.

A considerable period of time passes between the December Snow Ball and the premiere episode of the third season, in which part of the group goes to the newly opened Starcourt Mall to watch a movie. While the exact dates aren't mentioned, we get to know much later that the Soviet Union had been preparing to perfect the Key since early 1985, and that they constructed a secret Russian facility right beneath Starcourt Mall. 

The events of the season 3 premiere (titled "Suzie, Do You Copy?") take place on June 28, leaving a stretch of six months that haven't been tapped into yet. "Tales From '85" slots perfectly into this timeframe. 

Robles also clarified that the monsters in the new series definitely share "the DNA of Upside Down creatures," but there is still plenty of opportunity to explore new creature lore: 

"That opened Pandora's box for us, and we said, 'Wow, we can really do some pretty cool stuff' [...] 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. I grew up watching 'Jaws', and we play with the same trope in the sense of, underneath all that snow, there's something lurking, and you just never know where that thing's going to come out and grab you. We've been able to explore some unique monsters in the series." 

That does sound cool, but without having seen any of the show yet, "Tales From '85" feels like lore-building that no one asked for, especially after the divisive finale that did series protagonist, Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown), grave injustice.

"Stranger Things: Tales From '85" debuts on Netflix on April 23, 2026.