10 TV Shows We Thought Would Be The Next Stranger Things

Stranger Things may finally be over, but it won’t have a true successor for the foreseeable future. Starting in 2016, the supernatural mystery series took the world by storm, quickly becoming an inescapable title with endless cultural capital. After a single season, Stranger Things was even being celebrated as the best sci-fi series on Netflix— but that popularity only grew.

The lovable ensemble cast turned Hawkins, Indiana into one of the most iconic settings of the decade, and fan wars raged on over the possible relationships between Mike (Finn Wolfhard), Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown), Will (Noah Schnapp), and more. While the Stranger Things series finale marks the end of an era, however, finding the show’s true successor won’t be easy.

I Am Not Okay With This

A Troubled Teen Grapples With Heartbreak & Mysterious Powers

Based on Charles Forsman’s graphic novel of the same name, I Am Not Okay with This follows Sydney Novak (Sophia Lillis), a young teen who is stuck in perpetual grief following her father’s sudden death. After her best friend Dina (Sofia Bryant) drifts away and social outcast Stanley (Wyatt Oleff) imprints on her like a duckling, Syd becomes disillusioned with life.

Everything changes, however, when the young girl taps into her latent telekinetic powers (and, at the same time, her romantic feelings for Dina). The queer coming-of-age thriller was an instant favorite for countless viewers, but COVID-19 led to the unceremonious cancelation of I Am Not Okay with This— a wound that still hasn’t healed for many fans.

School Spirits

A Promising Student Finds Herself In A Club Of Ghosts

​​​​​​Stranger Things began with an ensemble of fresh faces (with the notable exception of Winona Ryder), but the cast of School Spirits is full of familiar names like Peyton List (Maddie) and Milo Manheim (Wally). Despite the established names attached to the project, however, School Spirits is irrefutably a hidden gem, even after three complete seasons have aired on Paramount+.

The supernatural mystery of School Spirits focused more on ghosts and the afterlife in general rather than Stranger Things‘ fantastical creatures. Furthermore, while the eponymous spirits of Split River High School are each emblematic of a distinct time period, the drama lacked a cohesive aesthetic, which proved to be one of the most pivotal aspects of Stranger Things‘ lasting success.

Silverpoint

One Boy Seeks Justice For A Group Of Missing Children

Stranger Things had a truly innovative premise when it first started, but many of its most memorable characteristics became common sources of inspiration for other series, including Silverpoint. The British teen drama followed a group of plucky young adults investigating a missing children case, which unsurprisingly leads them to a supernatural portal not unlike that of Stranger Things‘ upside down.

Yet, there remained a clear distinction in the tone of the two shows. Stranger Things focused on young heroes, but it included mature language, disturbing themes, and gruesome death scenes. Silverpoint is far more kid-friendly in comparison, making it a PG twist on Stranger Things for those who know it and yet another forgotten fantasy show for those who don’t.

Goosebumps

A Modern Twist On A Familiar Favorite

Before Isa Briones landed her highly divisive role as Dr. Trinity Santos on HBO’s critically acclaimed medical drama The Pitt, she portrayed Margot in Goosebumps. The 2023 remake put a fresh spin on many classic R. L. Stine stories, but created original overarching plots for each season. The second installment, known as Goosebumps: The Vanishing, was clearly influenced by Stranger Things.

The main plot of Goosebumps: The Vanishing centers on a group of teens who mysteriously disappear in 1994. Furthermore, there are plenty of strange monsters afoot. In place of demagorgons and mind flayers, though, the dangers include a haunted car and a parasitic monster that turns into dust. Sadly, the end of The Vanishing also marked the end of Goosebumps as a whole.​​​​​​​

The Midnight Club

The Adventures Of An Ensemble Cast Of Scary Storytellers

Mike Flanagan is the mastermind behind unforgettable horror stories like The Haunting of Hill House and The Fall of the House of Usher, but he also created one of the most underrated thrillers on Netflix: The Midnight Club. The titular club refers to a group of terminally-ill young adults living in hospice who gather together each night to tell stories.​​​​​​​

The Midnight Club draws upon the career of Christopher Pike, including his 1994 novel of the same name and dozens of short stories.

​​​​​​​Beyond the cutaway scary story vignettes, The Midnight Club had a fascinating underlying narrative dealing with the hospice facility itself. As the protagonist slowly unravels a vast conspiracy, it’s hard not to draw parallels to the underground experiment subplots of Stranger Things. Unfortunately, The Midnight Club was canceled after a single season, leaving its mystery forever unresolved.

Emergence

A Police Officer Takes In A Young Amnesiac With No Home

Police chief Jim Hopper (David Harbour) didn’t start out as a fan-favorite character, but Hopper and Eleven’s bond in Stranger Things melted millions of hearts throughout seasons 2–5. For fans of that specific dynamic, 2019’s sci-fi mystery series Emergence felt like a borderline replica, down to main character’s profession.

Emergence follows Jo Evans (Allison Tolman), a lonely police chief who fosters a lost child named Piper (Alexa Swinton) following a plane crash. When Piper begins exhibiting inexplicable powers, Jo steps up as her protector— but that proves easier said than done when mysterious operatives begin scouring the area for their lost experiment. Piper was no match for El, however, and Emergence ended after 13 episodes.​​​​​​​

Paper Girls

A Totally Tubular Friend Group Battles Inter-Dimensional Time Lords

Tons of modern sci-fi shows feel derivative of Stranger Things, but some titles are thrown into the conversation because they are, in their own way, just as good as Netflix’s smash hit. Such is the case with Paper Girls, a cult classic adaptation of the same-named comic series. Regardless, there were numerous thematic tethers that appealed to Stranger Things fans. ​​​​​​​

​​​​​​​Both shows lean into the 1980s aesthetic, focus on a tight-knit friend group, and take place in a small Midwestern town. Rather than battle Dungeons & Dragons enemies, however, the Paper Girls protagonists travel time and space to protect their loved ones. Paper Girls easily could have been Stranger Things‘ perfect successor, but the drama was canceled after eight episodes.

Yellowjackets

Teen Soccer Stars Succumb To The Darkest Versions Of Themselves

Yellowjackets was intentionally vague when it first started, allowing the viewer itself to piece together their own theories regarding what really happened between the drama’s dual timelines. The psychological thriller followed a high school soccer team fighting to survive the Canadian wilderness after their plane to Nationals crashes. Soon, the survivors lose all sense of humanity.

​​​​​​​​​​​​​​Whether it was cabin fever or a supernatural force in the “Wilderness” that kick-started the team’s murderous, cannibalistic cult, Yellowjackets quickly went from a Stranger Things-esque mystery to a dark, gory, bone-chilling exploration of survivor’s guilt, psychotic mania, and girlhood. Additionally, the streaming success of Yellowjackets proves it is now beyond comparison as a beast of its very own.

Hysteria!

The Horrors Of The Midwest In The Late 1980s

Hysteria! had all the makings of a great Stranger Things replacement: it took place in 1989, was set in Michigan, and walked a thin line between paranormal activity and, as the title suggests, mere hysteria. Instead of Hawkins, the main characters of Hysteria! fight demonic possession in Happy Hollow as strange deaths, disappearances, and more rock the small town.

The ending of Hysteria! season 1 even left crumbs for an intriguing follow-up season, but Peacock tragically pulled the plug on the highly-stylized series after one season. Aside from its glaring similarities, Hysteria! had a comedic edge that could have offered ample room for experimentation as Stranger Things‘ spiritual successor, making its cancelation that much more disappointing.​​​​​​​

Locke & Key

Fighting Magical Demons Becomes A Family Affair

Unlike many of the best Stranger Things replacements, Locke & Key wasn’t prematurely canceled. From the start, the supernatural horror series was designed as a three-season story, which Netflix followed through on. For fans of Stranger Things‘ fantasy elements, there’s no better option than Locke & Key.

The series follows the Locke family matriarch and her three children as they move into the Locke family home in Matheson, Massachusetts. While the siblings mourn their father, they roam Keyhouse, uncovering keys that magically open doors— and set loose a dangerous creature that threatens the entire clan. It never reached Stranger Things-level popularity, but Locke & Key certainly deserves far more praise.​​​​​​​