Netflix’s ‘Stranger Things: Takes From ’85’ Gets A Season 2 Despite Poor Performance

InnovationGamingNetflix’s ‘Stranger Things: Takes From ’85’ Gets A Season 2 Despite Poor PerformanceByPaul Tassi,Senior Contributor.Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. News and opinion about video games, television, movies and the internet.Follow AuthorApr 29, 2026, 10:21am EDT--:-- / --:--This voice experience is generated by AI. Learn more.This voice experience is generated by AI. Learn more.Stranger Things: Tales from '85NetflixNetflix has frustrated many fans over the years by canceling good shows, even ones that seemingly performed well. But what about a show that only some people like and has obviously gotten rather poor viewership? Well, it appears that there are exceptions to that rule when it comes to one of Netflix’s biggest franchises, Stranger Things.Netflix clearly does not want to let go of that well-watched universe, with Stranger Things: Tales From ’85 airing shortly after its finale, and a live-action spinoff coming at some point. Netflix has just announced that Tales From ’85 is getting a season 2, renewed not even a week after release, implying it’s some great success. But there’s nothing to indicate that it is.Netflix announced this by bragging about that it was in the top 15 animated debuts on the service (not top 10, you’ll note), and also that it debuted at #7 on the top 10 list, which in context, is quite poor. The first data we have about how the series did during its arrival is that its seventh-place arrival was behind the likes of Salish and Jordan Matter, which was already on the list for three weeks, a Hulk Hogan documentary, and the second week of Beef. That was just 2.8 million views. Currently, the show is about to fall off the top 10 list altogether, hanging on at #10 after six days.Reviews have been mixed-to-bad. Its 63% on Rotten Tomatoes from critics is barely positive, lower than all past Stranger Things seasons by a lot, and audience scores are a rotten 54%. Over on IMDB, Stranger Things: T...