Paramount, revitalized by a change in ownership, has made considerable changes, with the acquisition of UFC rights and enticing The Duffer Brothers along with their business, Upside Down Pictures, from Netflix, being the most substantial. Although the acclaimed duo plan to transition their main deal to Paramount in 2026, their ongoing engagements at Netflix are not at risk. To provide an overview, Netflix secured a significant contract with Upside Down Pictures (previously known as Monkey Massacre Productions) in September 2019, which will last till April 2026. This contract encompassed all film and television projects, but Paramount has now succeeded in securing an arrangement with the duo, rejoining them with Cindy Holland, who initially collaborated with them on Stranger Things during their tenure at Netflix.
The novel agreement with Paramount is slated to extend until 20330 and believed to involve theatrical films, an avenue they were not able or did not explore during their Netflix phase. The status of Stranger Things Season 5 is presently in Post-Production. The show is an unfortunate casualty of several major upheavals within Hollywood. Its fourth season faced significant delay due to the global pandemic that shook 2020-21, and its fifth season was largely disrupted by two significant strikes in 2023, which halted production.
Despite these challenges, production went ahead, and the franchise, recognized as one of Netflix’s top offerings, only preceded by Squid Game and Wednesday, is due for a three-part return that will wrap up the storyline that made its debut on Netflix in 2016. We will not delve into all the details of Season 5 here, as we have a comprehensive preview available. It’s worth noting that Stranger Things’ finale season promises to make a lasting impression rather than a quiet exit.
Stranger Things is always one key series within the network but with a twist. The primary project earmarked for 2026 is Stranger Things: Tales from ’85. Positioned in the winter of 1985, happening between the second and third seasons of the main series, this animated venture, already equipped with a renewal for its second season, brings back the original characters and introduces a fresh face, Nikki. The gang is set to combat known and unknown creatures while trying to unravel a spine-chilling enigma plaguing their town.
Staging this series requires completely different elements and offers a fresh narrative scope than ever before. The First Shadow, a theatrical rendition, is currently having a run in the Broadway in New York and West End of London, with no definite end in sight. Currently, there are no plans to bring a filmed version of this stage play to Netflix, yet an insider tells us this could alter once the stage productions eventually draw to a close.
In-gathering other notable projects, Another Very Bad Thing Seems Likely To Happen is presently cementing its structure for a 2026 launch, and is in post-production. The other series under the auspices of The Duffer Brothers, where they hold the roles of executive producers, are The Boroughs, where Jeffrey Addiss and Will Matthews lead the series.
Shooting took place in Albuquerque, New Mexico, between September 2024 and early 2025. The narrative takes aim at a tranquil retirement society surrounded by the New Mexico desert, where an unassuming group of heroes gather their courage to ward off an extraterrestrial threat hell-bent on robbing them of their most precious resource, time.
The most recent announcement for a new project occurred in Summer 2025. This new project is a series adaptation of a novel by Ron Currie, who also joined the writing team for the series with his partner Joshua Mohr. The story unfolds in the small town of Waterville, Maine, and follows the ventures of Babs Dionne, a loyal Franco-American woman who balances her life as a loving grammy and formidable crime queen of the town.
She steers the drug trade in town, backed by her faithful adolescent girlfriends and her eldest daughter, Lori, a Marine veteran in a war against addiction. Predictably, the plot intensifies when a drug don based elsewhere notices a drop in his numbers in the upper northeastern region, assigning a covert and sinister figure known as “The Man” to investigate. Meanwhile, Babs’s younger sister mysteriously disappears, adding to the tension.
Another exciting project, though its status remains unclear, is Death Note. Inspired by a Japanese manga and anime bearing the same title, the series would revolve around an intelligent teenager who stumbles upon a cryptic black notebook, bestowing him with mystical powers to dictate life and death. This announcement was followed by the news in late 2022 that Halia Abdel-Meguid would serve as a writer and executive producer on this intriguing project.
Abdel-Meguid’s portfolio still mentions the series as ongoing, a promising hint. Another cheer comes from the fact that Dan Lin, who currently oversees Netflix’s film department and held a position at Rideback, was mentioned as a producer on this project, long before his notable rise to a key role at Netflix.
Lastly, a project that leaves us guessing is The Talisman, primarily because the project status is still unknown. The project was initially announced for Netflix in March 2021, but development is still proceeding for its adaptation of The Talisman, a riveting book by Stephen King and Peter Straub. The legendary Steven Spielberg, through Amblin Television, was declared as the producer of the series. However, there has been little significant advancement since this declaration. The show is expected to provide a unique blend of science-fiction, fantasy, and horror.
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