Netflix Ready To Turn Saturday Morning Cartoons Upside Down With 'Stranger Things' Spinoff

One of the most successful streaming shows of all time is getting a new animated version. Here are the details on what’s next for the “Stranger Things” franchise.

What Happened: Since launching in 2016, “Stranger Things” has been a massive success story for streaming giant Netflix Inc (NASDAQ: NFLX). The fourth season of the series set records for Netflix and showed the strength of the franchise.

Netflix announced it has ordered an animated series that will follow the “Stranger Things” franchise, according to Variety.

The new show will be developed by Eric Robles, the creator of animated shows like “Random! Cartoons,” “Fanboy & Chum Chum” and “Glitch Techs,” along with Flying Bark Productions.

“Stranger Things” creators the Duffer brothers (Matt Duffer and Ross Duffer) are attached as executive producers of the show via their Upside Down Pictures. Other producers include Robles of Flying Bark, Shawn Levy and Dan Cohen of 21 Laps.

“We’ve always dreamed of an animated ‘Stranger Things’ in the vein of the Saturday morning cartoons that we grew up loving, and to see this dream realized has been absolutely thrilling,” the Duffer brothers said.

“We couldn’t be more blown away by what Eric Robles and his team have come up with – the scripts and artwork are incredible, and we can’t wait to share more with you!”

Upside Down Pictures and 21 Laps have both signed overall deals with Netflix.

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Why It’s Important: Since its first season in 2016, “Stranger Things” has been a ratings hit for Netflix, as each season has been among the most-watched series ever for the streaming giant.

A fifth and final season of “Stranger Things” was announced in February 2022 and is expected to be released in 2024.

Netflix also announced “Stranger Things” will get a live-action spinoff and a stage show back in July 2022 when the Duffer brothers formed Upside Down Pictures.

The brothers have remained fairly tight lipped on what spinoffs could look like, but hinted that it would not focus on characters like Eleven or Steve Harrington.

Outside of the world of “Stranger Things,” the Duffer brothers are also working on a live-action TV series based on the Japanese manga and anime series “Death Note.” The brothers are also adapting the Stephen King novel “The Talisman.”

The move to lock up the Duffer brothers for additional “Stranger Things” content and additional work could provide a lift to Netflix after the original series ends with season five. 

Netflix has also worked on extending its successful “Squid Game” series with a second season and a reality competition.

Rival streaming platform HBO Max from Warner Bros. Discovery (NASDAQ: WBD) is following a similar playbook with a prequel series to the successful “Game of Thrones” series already launched and multiple shows in the same franchise planned.

NFLX Price Action: Netflix shares closed at $338.21 Tuesday versus a 52-week trading range of $162.81 to $379.43.

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Photo courtesy of Netflix.