Netflix Orders 'Other Worlds' Prequel Set in 1950s Nevada

Netflix has officially ordered 'Other Worlds: A Stranger Things Adventure', a live-action prequel series announced on November 6, 2026—Stranger Things Day, marking the fictional date of Will Byers' disappearance in the original series. The show is set in Marion, Nevada, on April 19, 1955, decades before the events of both the original Stranger Things (set in 1980s Hawkins, Indiana) and the stage play Stranger Things: The First Shadow (set in 1959 Hawkins). The series is scheduled to premiere in 2028.

The prequel is co-created by the Duffer Brothers and Kate Trefry, who has worked on the original series and wrote the stage play. Trefry serves as showrunner, co-creator, and writer. Director Joe Wright, known for films including Pride & Prejudice, Atonement, and Darkest Hour, will direct the first three episodes and executive produce. Other executive producers include Matt and Ross Duffer via their Upside Down Pictures banner, Shawn Levy and 21 Laps Entertainment, Paul Dichter, Shelley Meals, Andrea Sperling, and Pavlina Hatoupis. The Duffers' executive producing on the project represents a carve-out from their overall deal with Paramount, which began in April 2026 following the expiration of their Netflix deal.

Production will take place in New Mexico. A teaser trailer released with the announcement features a child's bicycle beside a 1950s-style radio playing "Sh-Boom" by The Crew-Cuts, positioned in a restricted area with ominous clouds overhead. The Duffer Brothers said the show will feature "a new setting, new heroes and villains, and new" details they are not yet permitted to disclose. Kate Trefry described bringing the series to life as an "insane honour and privilege," noting that the team aimed to capture "all the horror, wonder and mystery of the flagship, while also telling a wholly new story."

This marks the fourth project in the Stranger Things universe, following the original series (which concluded in January 2026 with a two-hour finale that reportedly caused a spike in Netflix traffic), the animated series Stranger Things: Tales From '85, and the stage play The First Shadow. The Duffers teased in interviews that the spinoff would explore events prior to Henry Creel being exposed to the otherworldly substance that granted him his powers as the antagonist Vecna.