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

Netflix has renewed Stranger Things: Tales From ’85 for a second season despite weak viewership and poor reviews, a move likely aimed at preserving the Stranger Things franchise rather than responding to strong performance. The animated spinoff debuted at #7 on Netflix’s Top 10 with ~2.8 million views and briefly made Netflix’s top 15 animated debuts, but audience and critic scores are lukewarm (63% critics on Rotten Tomatoes, 54% audience; 5.7/10 on IMDb) and the series was sliding on the Top 10 within a week. For investors, the renewal signals Netflix’s strategic prioritization of IP continuity and brand maintenance over short-term performance metrics, which could support subscriber engagement but may pressure margins if production costs remain high.