Overview
- The series, released April 23 on Netflix, delivers ten 3D-animated episodes set in winter 1985 between the main show’s second and third seasons.
- Showrunner Eric Robles frames it as a “lost season” focused on smaller Hawkins adventures and introduces a new core character, Nikki Baxter, voiced by Odessa A’zion.
- The kids are recast with younger-sounding actors, the tone is TV-PG with an ’80s cartoon feel, and guest voices include Robert Englund and Janeane Garofalo.
- The Duffer Brothers serve as executive producers and “continuity guardians,” while day-to-day duties fall to Robles and his team.
- Early reviews from Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, and rogerebert.com skew negative to mixed, and Netflix has not announced a renewal as it waits on first-month “completion” metrics.