After almost a decade and a total of 46 episodes, Netflix's "Stranger Things" has come to an end. Since 2016, the streaming service has been taking us back to Hawkins every couple of years, but as of New Year’s Eve, "Stranger Things" season 5 has capped off the Duffer Brothers' hit sci-fi show with a feature-length finale.
Now that season 5 volume 3 has been and gone, we’ve said goodbye to our Hawkins faves, but countless viewers also face another conundrum entirely: What on earth do you go and watch next?
If you weren’t quite ready to say goodbye to “Stranger Things,” and you’re on the hunt for shows with a similar vibe, I think I can help. In honor the end of one of Netflix’s biggest shows, I’ve put together a brief list of seven shows that “Stranger Things” fans might want to watch next, and which streaming service they currently call home.
'Archive 81'
I don’t think I’ll ever pass up an opportunity to recommend “Archive 81” or truly get over the fact that Netflix canned this intriguing supernatural horror series after a single season (and a doozy of a cliffhanger ending). Nevertheless, if you won’t be put off by watching a series cut down in its prime, you’re in for a real treat here.
We follow archivist Dan Turner (Mamoudou Athie), who takes a new job restoring a collection of damaged videotapes, and in doing so, turns his life upside down. Dan finds himself piecing together the work of a documentary filmmaker, Melody Pendras (Dina Shihabi), and becomes drawn into her investigation into the Visser apartment complex and the strange goings-on hidden within.
Somehow, the pair form some sort of connection, and Dan becomes convinced he just might be able to save Melody from the fate she met 25 years prior. It features some other-world shenanigans (a la the Upside Down), it’s spooky and atmospheric, and I'm sure if you get sucked into the story, you won't want to watch anything else.
Stream "Archive 81" on Netflix now
'Dark'
![Dark | Teaser [HD] | Netflix - YouTube](https://img.youtube.com/vi/ESEUoa-mz2c/maxresdefault.jpg)
"Dark" feels like one of those shows destined to remain underappreciated, despite having a stellar reputation (all three seasons are 90% or higher on Rotten Tomatoes) and just genuinely being that good. If you really got a kick out of the conspiracy edge of the "Stranger Things" tale, you're in for a treat here.
Summarizing this mind-bending German-language Netflix original sci-fi series is a big ask, but it takes us to the small town of Winden, a place with a sinister past. There, the truth slowly starts to emerge after a child goes missing, and four families are pulled into a frantic search for the truth... a search that spans multiple generations and unspools as one huge puzzle.
"Dark" is dense but engrossing television, and only gets more intriguing as it lures viewers into its knotty mystery. Expect time travel, mysterious conspiracies, and dark secrets to emerge if you sit down to stream it (which you absolutely should).
Stream "Dark" on Netflix now
'IT: Welcome to Derry'
A group of youngsters from a small town band together in the past to confront a hugely powerful evil being: that's "Stranger Things" in a nutshell, right? Well, it's also a pretty apt description of "IT: Welcome to Derry," the nightmarish HBO Max horror drama that premiered just a couple of months ago.
The show serves as a prequel to Andy Muschietti's hugely successful "IT" movies, and it whisks us back in time to 1962 to Derry, Maine, where a fresh batch of kids united by fear band do battle with an altogether more evil force: Bill Skarsgård's shapeshifting killer, Pennywise the Dancing Clown. It offers deeper lore, serious shocks, and way more horror than any single "Stranger Things" episode I can think of, but if you've got the stomach for grim gore and more of Pennywise's antics, "IT: Welcome to Derry" could make for a great follow-up to Netflix's outgoing show.
Stream "IT: Welcome to Derry" on HBO Max now
'Paper Girls'
Prime Video’s “Paper Girls” is an eight-episode sci-fi series based on a graphic novel series of the same name, and it'd also make a perfect "Stranger Things" follow-up. So much, in fact, that one critic literally pitched it as an “all-female 'Stranger Things'" upon release back in 2022, and frankly, I couldn’t sum it up better if I tried. Like the outgoing Netflix project, “Paper Girls” takes place in the ‘80s and sees another batch of suburban kids — Erin (Riley Lai Nelet), Mac (Sofia Rosinsky), Tiffany (Camryn Jones) and KJ (Fina Strazza) — tangled up in a mystery of their own.
In the early hours on Halloween, 1988, our four paper girls head out on their delivery routes and find themselves caught in the crossfire between warring time-travelers, and, somehow, the tweens end up transported into the future. Thus begins a journey that’ll bring them face to face with their grown-up selves, and in danger: a militant group who outlawed time travel, the “Old Watch,” is hot on their trail.
Stream "Paper Girls" on Prime Video now
'The X-Files'
If you've somehow never heard of "The X-Files," or you've never met supernatural FBI truther, Agent Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) and his skeptic partner, Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson), you owe it to yourself to try Chris Carter's legendary sci-fi/conspiracy thriller. It left an indelible mark on pop culture and surely played a part in inspiring the Netflix hit.
Special Agent Scully is assigned ostensibly to debunk Mulder's work, but her belief in what's real is vehemently tested by their search for "the truth." Their work sees the duo investigating conspiracies and tackling countless "monster of the week" mysteries, which see them brushing up against all manner of strange occurrences, and plenty of similarities with the anxieties and themes that "Stranger Things" is tapping into.
It's also worth shouting out simply because committing to a full watch will keep you occupied for some time to come. "The X-Files" 11-season run contains more than 200 episodes (and a couple of movies), meaning fans mourning the loss of the Netflix hit will have plenty to keep them occupied for some time to come.
Stream "The X-Files" on Hulu now
'Star Wars: Skeleton Crew'
Think "The Goonies," but set in a galaxy far, far away, and you've pretty much got the measure of "Skeleton Crew," the underrated Disney+ Star Wars series.
Here, we follow a group of kids — Fern, KB, Neel and Wim — who end up lost in space after stumbling on a hidden spaceship buried on their home planet of At Attin... a spaceship that they inadvertently end up sending off-world. Cue an epic quest to find their way home that sees them tangling with all kinds of aliens and crossing paths with Force-user, Jod Na Nawood (Jude Law), who offers to help them get home.
It doesn't have quite the same vibe as "Stranger Things" (it's a lot lighter, especially compared to the later seasons), but "Skeleton Crew" is a similar show in spirit. It's kids, on (speeder) bikes, tangled up in something so much bigger than they could ever comprehend, and it's a real fun watch.
Stream "Skeleton Crew" on Disney Plus now
'The Umbrella Academy'
You’ve spent dozens of hours with a group of youngsters banding together to face an extradimensional threat, so it stands to reason that you’ll likely enjoy this quirky Netflix superhero comedy/drama that's based on a series of comic books written by My Chemical Romance frontman Gerard Way.
At noon on October 1, 1989, 43 women across the globe gave birth simultaneously, without showing any sign of pregnancy until the babies came. Eccentric billionaire Sir Reginald Hargreeves adopts seven of these children and puts them to work fighting crime as superheroes in a misfit team he calls “The Umbrella Academy.” The team eventually disbands, but they're reunited later down the line when they receive the news of Hargreeves’ passing. Cue a wild ride that packs in drama and intrigue and sees this particular dysfunctional family facing down multiple world-ending events.
Stream "The Umbrella Academy" on Netflix now
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