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Stranger Things has flayed our minds for nearly a decade. Since first setting eyes on the town of Hawkins in 2016, we’ve watched its inhabitants grow from vulnerable kids to battle-scarred adults. We’ve seen strange superpowers in action and unexpected relationships blossom. We’ve witnessed a town torn by literal gateways to hell. And we’ve seen many, many, many monsters.
After nearly 10 years, Stranger Things has come to an end. Will anything be able to fill the void?Credit: Netflix
But, like every story, it eventually had to end.
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Released on New Year’s Day, the mammoth two-hour finale went off with an unsurprising bang. So many tuned in to see the Duffer Brothers’ final bow that Netflix crashed. And according to Deadline, the episode’s US theatrical release raked in between $US25 ($37.3 million) and $US30 million between New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day (notably, this was just in concession cash because cinemas couldn’t charge for tickets given the cast’s contractual terms for residuals). This technically put it on par, if not above, the biggest film of the season, Avatar: Fire and Ash, which grossed a combined $US23.7 million.
Some fans couldn’t contain their emotions as the final credits rolled, posting TikToks of themselves crying, mourning the “end of an era”. Others were less moved, instead lamenting over plotholes and unanswered questions. Some even believed the cast tried to “warn” fans of the arguably dissatisfying ending, pointing to a recent interview with Millie Bobby Brown (who played Eleven) in which she appeared uncomfortable, almost pained, when asked about the conclusion.
Whether you loved or loathed it, the Stranger Things finale marks the end of a cultural phenomenon, one that, for the most part, satisfyingly combined sci-fi adventure, 80s nostalgia and teen hijinks for nearly 10 years. So, if this ending has tipped your world upside down or left you wandering the void, a la Eleven, here are eight shows that could scratch that Stranger Things itch.
It: Welcome to Derry
HBO Max
Missing kids, secret government operations and a creepy master villain who gets into people’s heads? This Stephen King prequel starkly resembles Stranger Things, though this series is set in the early 1960s, and is driven by the acts of an evil alien clown rather than a vengeful clawed wizard.
The HBO show explores the earlier days of Pennywise the Clown, who’s wreaking havoc on the small town of Derry by kidnapping and killing children. It’s the perfect choice for those who enjoyed the bloodier, more horrifying elements of Stranger Things, but perhaps it’s not for those with a fear of clowns.
Hysteria!
Binge
This horror-comedy could easily have starred Eddie from Stranger Things. Much like the Hellfire Club in Hawkins, the “Dethkrunch” heavy metal band is made up of a group of misfit teens who are quickly blamed for a series of crimes in a small American town. It’s satanic panic at its finest, combined with a string of supernatural occurrences that scream Stranger Things.
Hysteria!, which landed in 2024, explores themes of generational tension, misinformation and, as the name suggests, mass hysteria. It may as well have been set in Stranger Things home town of Hawkins.
Yellowjackets
Paramount+
If it’s the complex dynamic between teens under extreme stress that you’ll miss post-Stranger Things, watch Yellowjackets.
Since premiering in 2021, the horror series has followed a high school girls’ soccer team stranded in the wilderness following a plane crash. Like the Duffer Brothers’ creation, it’s an emotionally raw coming-of-age story, peppered with some seriously twisted psychological drama and even a dash of cannibalism. It’s expected to drop its fourth and final season later this year.
From
Stan*
If Stranger Things taught us anything, it’s that people love watching small towns with big secrets.
From, produced by those who brought us Lost, follows the unfortunate folk who wander into a tiny American town only to realise there’s no way out. To make matters worse, demon monsters come out of the woods at night and kill those who don’t possess a mysterious protective talisman. Like Stranger Things, it’s a bit cult-like, it interrogates the tensions of small-town living, and it spares no punches.
Goosebumps
Disney+
Part of Stranger Things′ beauty was that it was a family affair – both young and older viewers were equally entranced. The 2023 Goosebumps remake is exactly that, reminding parents of their favourite childhood horror books and introducing children to a palatable fright-fest.
A group of five teenagers accidentally unleash supernatural forces while investigating a decades-old death of a fellow teen, leading them to uncover dark secrets from their parents’ pasts. This show, like Stranger Things, is also incredibly nostalgic, harking back to the original Goosebumps books written by R.L. Stine in the 90s.
Paper Girls
Prime Video
Blending 80s nostalgia, sci-fi and themes of friendship and fate, this coming-of-age story is the perfect antidote for the post-Stranger Things blues.
Four newspaper delivery girls are swept up in a time travel battle, forcing them to confront their older selves and a litany of threats. Just like in the Netflix behemoth, the sky turns an unnatural colour, kids ride around on bikes, and they endure all kinds of mind-bending scenarios as they fight to prevent the collapse of the universe.
Fringe
Prime Video
At the heart of Stranger Things lies a parallel universe, as well as fringe science, like psychic ability and teleportation. The same can be said of Fringe, a 2008 procedural sci-fi show in which an FBI agent teams up with a scientist to uncover all kinds of unexplained phenomena and conspiracies.
Twin Peaks (1990)
Paramount+
David Lynch’s surreal 1990s series is often cited as a precursor to Stranger Things. Both series explore the seedy underbelly of seemingly friendly towns.
Twin Peaks’ premise is simple – an FBI agent travels to a small town to investigate the death of a homecoming queen. But what happens thereafter is anything but simple, as he discovers an array of supernatural oddities and bizarre townsfolk.
Stranger Things is now streaming on Netflix.
*Stan is owed by Nine, which also owns this masthead.
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