Will There Be a “Stranger Things” Spinoff?

Courtesy of Netflix

NEED TO KNOW

• Netflix has multiple Stranger Things spinoffs in the works, including some co-creator Matt Duffer referred to as a "clean slate"

• An animated show, first announced in 2023, will feature the original characters and premiere later this year

• The sci-fi show wrapped its fifth and final season on Dec. 31

After nearly a decade,Stranger Thingshas come to an end — but fans may get to revisit the world created by brothers Matt and Ross Duffer again soon.

Netflix's nostalgia-filled sci-fi show wrapped its fifth and final season with the release of its series finale on Dec. 31, bringing to an end the characters' long fight against the terrors in the Upside Down. Though the Duffer brothers have assured that all possible loose ends have been tied up, spinoffs are already in the works.

Speaking toVarietyin October ahead of the release of season 5's first wave of episodes in November, the Duffers stressed the importance of giving the story closure.

"We do every last remaining thing we wanted to do with the Demogorgons and Mind Flayer and Vecna and the Upside Down and Hawkins and these characters," Matt said. "This is a complete story. It'sdone."

Matthew Murphy and Evan Zimmerman

That being said, fans can still head to Broadway to see the prequel play,Stranger Things: The First Shadow,which first opened in London in December 2023 before making its Broadway bow in April 2025.

And in early November 2025, Netflix unveiled a first look atStranger Things: Tales from '85, an animated series first announced in 2023, which is set in Hawkins in winter 1985. According to the official logline, "the original characters must fight new monsters and unravel a paranormal mystery terrorizing their town."

COURTESY OF NETFLIX

"With animation, there's really no limits," Ross toldTudum.

"And it's nice, because the kids can stay young forever," Matt toldVariety. The show will premiere later this year and feature an entirely new cast voicing the beloved characters.

But the Duffers have confirmed another spinoff in the works as well — only that will feature "a different decade and different characters, but of course, still connected to theStranger Thingsuniverse," Ross toldTHR. "It's an idea we've had for years and something we're just really excited and passionate about."

As Matt toldVariety, "You're starting with new characters. It's like clean slate. You're not tied up into any knots."

"It's really its own entity," he added to ScreenRant.

As Ross noted toVariety, the spinoffs are "going to live in a bit of a different world. There's going to be connective tissue, but you're almost anthologizing in a way. Because we're notStar Wars. We can't be like, 'Oh, now we're on this planet.'"

Courtesy of Netflix

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While the Duffer brothers are creating the new series and will be, as Ross toldVariety, "heavily creatively involved" and "helping shepherd it along," they won't be its showrunners, as they have a new deal to develop projects for Paramount.

All five seasons ofStranger Thingsare available for streaming on Netflix.Stranger Things: Tales from '85will premiere on Netflix later this year.

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January 01, 2026

Will There Be a “Stranger Things” Spinoff?

Courtesy of Netflix NEED TO KNOW Netflix has multiple Stranger Things spinoffs in the works, including some co-creator Matt Duffer referr...

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Sabrina Carpenter Appears to Subtly Shade Ex Barry Keoghan with New Year's Post

Gilbert Flores/Billboard via Getty; Dave Benett/WireImage

NEED TO KNOW

• Sabrina Carpenter appeared to throw subtle shade at her ex, Barry Keoghan

• The singer recently reposted two videos from a popular TikTok trend involving users being relieved they "didn't get back with" their exes in 2025

• Carpenter, 26, and Keoghan, 33, parted ways in December 2024 after a year of dating

Sabrina Carpenterappeared to throw some subtle shade at her ex, actorBarry Keoghan, in several recent social media posts.

Carpenter, 26, reposted two videos from a popular TikTok trend in which users write, "It's been a tough year, but at least I didn't get back with my ex." The videos are set to her song "Manchild."

Representatives for Carpenter and Keoghan did not immediately respond to PEOPLE's request for comment.

The "Espresso" singer andSaltburnactorfirst sparked romance rumorsin December 2023 when they were spotted grabbing dinner together in Los Angeles.

They were seen out and about together in the ensuing months — including sharing some PDA — and Keoghan regularly left sweet comments on Carpenter's Instagram posts. However, Carpenter remained tight-lipped about the status of their relationship in a June 2025 interview withRolling Stone.

"How do I skirt around this question?" she said when asked if she called the Irish-born Keoghan her boyfriend.

Kevin Mazur/MG24/Getty

In August 2025, aninside source told PEOPLEthat the pair were "on and off."

Carpenter cast Keoghan in the music video for her song "Please Please Please" in June, later praising his talents while chatting withCBS Sunday Morning's Tracy Smith in October.

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"I was like, 'Who's the greatest actor that I can find for this music video?' And he was next to me in a chair," Carpenter said. "And he was so excited about it."

After announcing their split in December 2025, Keoghan publicly announced that he haddeactivated his Instagram accountin the wake of online harassment.

"I can only sit and take so much," he began in a message onX,noting that his name had been "dragged across the internet."

"I have to respond now because it's gettin to a place where too many lines are being crossed. I deactivated my [Instagram] account because I can no longer let this stuff distract from my family and my work," he wrote.

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TheDunkirkactor noted that "no person should ever have to read" the messages he has received, citing, "Absolute lies, hatred, disgusting commentary about my appearance, character, how I am as a parent and every other inhumane thing you can imagine."

Read the original article onPeople

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January 01, 2026

Sabrina Carpenter Appears to Subtly Shade Ex Barry Keoghan with New Year's Post

Gilbert Flores/Billboard via Getty; Dave Benett/WireImage NEED TO KNOW Sabrina Carpenter appeared to throw subtle shade at her ex, Barry ...

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What we know about the 'Stranger Things' spinoff — plus the one cast member who guessed it correctly

For the Duffer brothers,Stranger Thingsmarks the end of an era… sort of. Though the hit Netflix series is coming to an end after nine years and five seasons, fans won't be saying goodbye to theStranger Thingsuniverse for good. In fact, Ross and Matt Duffer have practically said as much: There's aStranger Thingsspinoff in the works.

The Duffers have remained tight-lipped when it comes to sharing details about the spinoff, though they have sharedsomeinsight into what fans may be able to expect — and aStranger Thingsstar has even weighed in on the discourse.

Will the same cast be involved? And what exactly have the Duffer brothers said about it? Yahoo is rounding up everything we know about theStranger Thingsspinoff (so far), below.

Will theStranger Thingscast return for the spinoff?

Unfortunately,Stranger Thingsfans shouldn't expect to see any familiar faces in the spinoff series. Matt Duffertold Screenrantof the forthcoming project: "It relates in some ways, but it really is a completely different story and a completely different location with completely different actors and characters. So it's its own. It's really its own entity."

What else do we know about the spinoff?

While it won't follow the Hawkins gang we've come to know and love, theStranger Thingsspinoff, Matt Duffer previouslytold Variety, will still be part of the show's brand and style of storytelling, and will revolve around "kids, adventures, sci-fi/fantasy, rather than increasingly expand what could become an insanely convoluted mythology."

"You're starting with new characters — it's like clean slate," he told the outlet. "You're not tied up into any knots. There's something refreshing about it."

The Duffers will be involved in "helping shepherd it along," per Variety, but given theirnew Paramount deal, they won't serve as showrunners of the spinoff.

Has theStranger Thingscast said anything about it?

So far, Finn Wolfhard, who plays Mike Wheeler, is the only member of theStranger Thingscast to correctly guess what the spinoff may revolve around.

"Nobody — not Netflix, not any of the producers, not any of the directors, not any of the actors — nobody else has figured out what the spinoff is. Finn figured [it] out, which is pretty remarkable," Ross Duffertold Variety. "We've mind-melded with this kid a bit."

While chatting with Variety, Wolfhard speculated about what the forthcomingStranger Thingsspinoff could be about, and compared it to another beloved cult series.

"Like David Lynch'sTwin Peaks," he told the outlet. "Sort of an anthology and different tones but similar universe or same universe. I think set in different places and all tied together through this mythology of the Upside Down. Don't even talk about Hawkins. Don't have any mention of our characters. They were toying around with ideas in case Netflix wanted them. I'm sure they do, and I'm sure it will happen, but there's nothing official. I think the coolest way, the way that I would do it, there has to be labs everywhere. If there was one in Hawkins, there's one in Russia. Where else could they be?"

TheStranger Thingsspinoff was confirmed in November 2025 when Matt Duffertold Deadline, "We are moving forward with it. Netflix, they finally know what it is. We held it. They were so frustrated. We just would not tell them. Finn guessed what it was. So he was the only one who knew."

byNeo

in

January 01, 2026

What we know about the 'Stranger Things' spinoff — plus the one cast member who guessed it correctly

For the Duffer brothers,Stranger Thingsmarks the end of an era… sort of. Though the hit Netflix series is coming to an en...

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Notable works entering the public domain in 2026

New Year's Day commemorates the passing of time and the start of a new chapter, so it is fitting that the same day also presents an opportunity to breathe new life into thousands of creative works nearly a century old. As of Jan. 1, 2026, characters like early Betty Boop and Nancy Drew, and a variety of popular movies, books and songs, have entered the the public domain.

They join a growing list of cultural icons that are no longer under copyright protection, includingPopeye the Sailor Manand the"Steamboat Willie" version of Mickey Mouse.

List of popular intellectual property entering the public domain in 2026

The year 2026 marks the first time that copyrighted books, films, songs and art published in the '30s enter the U.S. public domain. As of Jan. 1, protections have expired for published works from 1930 and sound recordings from 1925.

Here are some of the most notable works that are now available for free use by anyone:

"The Murder at the Vicarage" by Agatha Christie, the first novel featuring elderly amateur detective Miss Marple."The Secret of the Old Clock" by Carolyn Keene, the first appearance of teen detective Nancy Drew, and three follow-ups."The Little Engine That Could" by Watty Piper.Fleischer Studios' "Dizzy Dishes," the first cartoon in which Betty Boop appears.Disney's "The Chain Gang" and "The Picnic," both depicting the earliest versions of Mickey's dog Pluto.The initial four months of "Blondie" comic strips by Chic Young, featuring the earliest iterations of the titular character and her then-boyfriend, Dagwood.The film "All Quiet on the Western Front," directed by Lewis Milestone, Best Picture winner at the 3rd Academy Awards."King of Jazz," directed by John Murray Anderson, Bing Crosby's first appearance in a feature film."Animal Crackers," directed by Victor Heerman and starring the Marx Brothers."The Big Trail," directed by Raoul Walsh, John Wayne's first turn as leading man."But Not For Me," music by George Gershwin, lyrics by Ira Gershwin."Georgia on My Mind," music by Hoagy Carmichael, lyrics by Stuart Gorrell."Dream a Little Dream of Me," music by Fabian Andre and Wilbur Schwandt, lyrics by Gus Kahn."Livin' in the Sunlight, Lovin' in the Moonlight," music by Al Sherman, lyrics by Al Lewis.Piet Mondrian's painting, "Composition with Red, Blue, and Yellow."

How the public domain works

When a work's copyright protections lapse, it lands in the public domain, allowing anyone to use and build upon it as they see fit for free and without needing permission.

"Copyright gives rights to creators and their descendants that provide incentives to create," Jennifer Jenkins, director of Duke University'sCenter for the Study of the Public Domain,told CBS News' Lee Cowan in 2024. "But the public domain really is the soil for future creativity."

The U.S. Constitution'sintellectual property clauseestablishes that works be protected for a limited amount of time, "to promote the progress of science and useful arts." The Founding Fathers left it to Congress to sort out the specifics.

Generally, in the U.S., works published or registered before 1978 retain copyright protections for 95 years. For later works, protection usually spans the creator's lifetime and 70 years after.

"If copyright lasted forever, it would be very difficult for a lot of creators to make the works they want to make without worrying about being in the crosshairs of a copyright lawsuit," Jenkins said.

Just because a work's copyright has expired does not mean that members of the public cannot be held legally liable in some instances. For example, while the original Betty Boop from 1930 is in the public domain, the modern version is not. So to avoid infringement, any reuse would need to steer clear of her newer characteristics. Additionally, the character is subject to multiple trademarks, which further complicates its use.

What's entering the public domain in 2027?

Copyrighted works from 1931 will see their protections expire in 2027. This includes Universal Pictures' "Frankenstein" and "Dracula" films, Charlie Chaplin's "City Lights," Fritz Lang's "M," Herman Hupfeld's jazz standard "As Time Goes By" and more.

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December 31, 2025

Notable works entering the public domain in 2026

New Year's Day commemorates the passing of time and the start of a new chapter, so it is fitting that the same day...

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