Netflix’s Stranger Things is a lot of things. For those who grew up in the '80s, this show is like revisiting nostalgia, with all the classic horror tropes of the time. Even for those who haven't lived through that time period, this sci-fi horror drama is a peek into the decade. When Stranger Things was released in 2016, the audience couldn’t get over the addictive vintage appeal of 1980s television, and it instantly became a hit among fans of all ages.
Stranger Things stars an ensemble cast featuring Winona Ryder, David Harbour, Finn Wolfhard, Millie Bobby Brown, Gaten Matarazzo, Caleb McLaughlin, Noah Schnapp, Sadie Sink, Natalia Dyer, Charlie Heaton, Joe Keery, Maya Hawke, Priah Ferguson, Cara Buono, Brett Gelman, Matthew Modine, Paul Reiser, Jamie Campbell Bower, Eduardo Franco, Joseph Quinn, and Dacre Montgomery. The series was created by The Duffer Brothers – Ross and Matt Duffer – who are also the showrunners.
Strangers Things has so many small details that make this show so special. A tight-knit group of extraordinary and fascinating kids on an adrenaline-raising adventure, the retro-style cinematography, the music, the attention-grabbing effects, and not to mention, the great performances from the young cast, are all factors that make this series totally bingeworthy. The first volume of Stranger Things Season 4 dropped over the Memorial Day weekend after nearly three whole years since the release of Stranger Things Season 3. Now that the second volume of the fourth season has also launched on July 1, fans are likely thirsting for more nostalgic and supernatural tales.
Here’s a list of the top seven shows that have a similar feel to Stranger Things, and we are sure you’ll love them as much you love the kids from Hawkins.
Twin Peaks
Let’s say this right away. Twin Peaks is not just a popular mystery-horror series on television but also a cult classic. Stranger Things definitely finds inspiration in Twin Peaks in some places.
Developed by Mark Frost and David Lynch, Twin Peaks follows FBI Special Agent Dale Cooper and the local sheriff, Harry S. Truman, in the small, creepy town of Twin Peaks, where they start investigating the murder of a local girl. The original television series started in 1990 and was canceled in 1991. After a hiatus of 25 years, the creators revived the show in 2017 for a third season. Apart from its long-standing history, Twin Peaks also became popular for its ensemble cast, including Kyle MacLachlan, Michael Ontkean, Mädchen Amick, Dana Ashbrook, Richard Beymer, Lara Flynn Boyle, Sherilyn Fenn, Warren Frost, and Peggy Lipton, among a long list of other actors.
Twin Peaks is a must-watch for not just Stranger Things fans but for anyone who loves twisted mysteries. Like the town of Hawkins, Twin Peaks sees strange, disturbing occurrences that open up another dimension, like the Upside Down. It’s odd, eccentric, campy, and quirky, and a benchmark of vintage horror thrillers. Do watch it. It’s going to blow your mind.
I Am Not Okay With This
If you like Eleven in Stranger Things, you will also love Sydney Novak (Sophia Lillis) in I Am Not Okay With This. But there’s one major difference between the two shows.
I Am Not Okay With This is a coming-of-age black comedy at its core. The Netflix original series has a fun and light take on a teenage girl who develops telekinetic powers. While managing her newfound abilities, she also has to navigate the complexities of her high school life, teenage emotions, sexuality, and deal with her father’s recent suicide. It’s like the ultimate dive into the experiences of growing up.
The Netflix original comedy series was developed by Jonathan Entwistle and Christy Hall and is based on the eponymous comic book series by Charles Forsman. The series stars Lillis, Wyatt Oleff, Sofia Bryant, Maya Spreckman, and Kathleen Rose Perkins in major roles. I Am Not Okay With This might not be exactly like Stranger Things but it is an equally fun, light, and exciting story with a sci-fi undertone that will make you want to keep watching.
Locke & Key
Adapted from Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodriguez's comic book series of the same name, Locke & Key follows the magical adventures of the Locke family. After the family patriarch, Rendell Locke is murdered, his wife decides to take her three kids and move to their family home, Keyhouse, in Matheson, Massachusetts. Soon, the kids discover mysterious keys around the house that unlock various doors both physical and otherwise, leading to fantastical adventures and a brush with a demonic entity. The children must solve the mystery of the keys and thwart the evil agenda of the demon.
After a successful first season on Netflix, Locke & Key was renewed for a second season, which is all set to release in October 2021. The series stars Darby Stanchfield, Connor Jessup, Emilia Jones, Jackson Robert Scott, Laysla De Oliveira, Petrice Jones, and Griffin Gluck in major roles. There are many parallels to draw between Locke & Key and Stranger Things. For starters, both the shows involve a supernatural, horror adventure of a group of children. And both shows have a similarly gripping narrative that fans would equally enjoy.
Zone Blanche (Black Spot)
Imagine the Upside Down from Stranger Things, but only much creepier. Intrigued? Like the town of Hawkins, this French-Belgian thriller is set in an isolated small town, which becomes the premise for the story. Black Spot, or Zone Blanche in French, follows the investigation by a prosecutor who arrives in the town after it raises a flag with a sudden high murder rate. The prosecutor soon finds out, as will you, that the forests circling the town is full of dark secrets. And somehow, everything seems to be connected to the head of the local police, who was kidnapped and chained in those forests.
Black Spot is equally suspenseful and eerie, with lots of tension-filled moments. It’s a crime drama, peppered with local mythology and supernatural elements that makes the show very binge-able. Released in 2017, the supernatural thriller completed two seasons with a great response from viewers and there’s a possibility that there might be a third season coming.
Dark
Another European thriller series that promises a similar experience to Stranger Things, but more... dark. Dark opens with a child mysteriously vanishing from a small town. And soon, more such disappearances follow. The story is not of one but different families, in different times, interconnected by common events, and hence, this series is quite a puzzle.
Unlike Stranger Things, you won’t find alien monsters or another world in Dark. Rather, it pivots on hard science-fiction-like time travel and other complex theories and themes that will make you question life, the universe, and everything that you know. The mind-bending show boasts a powerful narrative and lives up to its promise of stirring up your psyche. The German-language original series ran for three seasons, from 2017 to 2020, with a total of 26 episodes. So, that’s enough to keep you covered for a while.
The OA
Another story of a young girl with a mysterious background, The OA explores a character quite similar to Eleven of Stranger Things. The plot follows Prairie Johnson (Brit Marling), a young woman who goes missing for seven years and then suddenly reappears out of nowhere. The mystery is that she was blind as a child and now she isn’t. She calls herself the Original Angel, or OA, and bears strange scars on her back, which, to be honest, are kind of bothering. To add to that, Prairie also claims that she can open other dimensions. Sounds a lot like a certain psychic girl, doesn't it?
A mystery drama series loaded with science fiction, fantasy, and supernatural elements, The OA promises a magical, trippy experience like Stranger Things. But The OA is a lot weirder and stranger than anything you would have recently watched. The character’s arc is more complex, with her story spanning multiple dimensions and universes, and it's told with a more philosophical stance than just as a sci-fi adventure.
The Netflix original series was created by Brit Marling and Zal Batmanglij and stars Marling, Emory Cohen, Scott Wilson, Phyllis Smith, Alice Krige, Patrick Gibson, Brendan Meyer, Brandon Perea, Ian Alexander, Jason Isaacs, Sharon Van Etten, Paz Vega, Will Brill, Chloe Levine, and Kingsley Ben-Adir in major roles. The OA spanned two seasons, from 2017 to 2019, and was canceled after that. Despite being short-lived, the supernatural mystery thriller managed to awe its fans and remains a great watch.
The Twilight Zone
When it comes to science fiction fantasy, The Twilight Zone is one of the first names that come first to mind. This is the most classic supernatural drama series ever made on television and has been an influence for all similar shows that followed. The anthology series was first created by Rod Serling in 1959. The series spanned five seasons and ended in 1964. Decades later, it was revived with a second series from 1985-89 followed by a third series from 2002-03 and a fourth and final series from 2019-2020.
The Twilight Zone does not rest on one premise. Each episode explores a different story across various genres like fantasy, sci-fi, dystopian fiction, suspense, horror, supernatural, black comedy, and psychological thriller, and sometimes even combinations of these. The series set the tone for all modern-day fantasy supernatural tropes that we have fallen in love with. You may not find any direct relativity to Stranger Things but The Twilight Zone will expose you to the world where it all comes from.