Netflix orders 'Other Worlds,' a Stranger Things prequel set in 1950s Nevada
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Netflix announced Friday that it has ordered “Other Worlds: A Stranger Things Adventure,” a prequel series set in 1950s Nevada that is scheduled to premiere in 2028.
The streamer released a one-minute teaser on Nov. 6, the annual “Stranger Things Day” marking the fictional date Will Byers disappeared in 1983. Production will take place in New Mexico.
The Duffer brothers, who created the franchise, describe the series as a prequel to “The First Shadow,” the 2023 stage play set in the 1950s and 1960s. It will explore the mysterious rock first mentioned in that play, The A.V. Club noted, and reach back to the origins of the dimension known as the Upside Down.
Kate Trefry serves as showrunner; she has worked with the Duffers since the original series’ second season and wrote “The First Shadow.” Joe Wright directs. Netflix gave little further detail beyond the 1950s setting. “Now, on to casting,” the Duffers said. “In the meantime — watch the skies, nerds!”
“We’ve been dreaming of Other Worlds for years,” the Duffers said in a statement. “It feels surreal and exhilarating to finally share it.” In remarks carried by NME, they added that the series is “very much ‘Stranger Things,’ but there’s a thrill of something new, with a new setting, new heroes and new villains.”
The order extends a franchise that Netflix has built into its flagship property across five television seasons, a stage production and an announced live-event expansion. The original series concluded its fifth and final season this year, and the spinoffs carry the audience forward.
No cast has been announced. The teaser’s 1950s Nevada setting places the story near the nuclear-testing and military installations of that era, elements the stage play wove into the franchise’s mythology.
The premiere window of 2028 leaves the series as the franchise’s next major release. Casting and showrunning details are expected in coming months.