Stranger Things‘ long-awaited fifth and final season was always going to make headlines, but no one could have predicted the backlash, the online petition that demanded a do-over from Netflix, the wild viral theory dubbed “Conformity Gate,” and Eleven’s ambiguous fate.However, Season 5, and in particular its final episode, “Chapter Eight: The Rightside Up,” divided the fanbase, almost like how Vecna’s earthquake split Hawkins right down the middle at the end of Season 4. And before we even had a chance for the dust to settle, Netflix has now rolled out the first official spinoff series: Stranger Things: Tales From ’85 (2026).Credit: NetflixWhy Tales From ’85 Is the Most Important SpinoffThere are more Stranger Things spinoffs and other content in the works, though. The Broadway stage play The First Shadow has been filmed for a future Netflix release, and there’s also an untitled live-action spinoff coming, which will explore the “briefcase rock” introduced during the Season 5 finale. But Tales From ’85 is perhaps the most important.That’s because those other projects don’t interfere with the main series’ timeline, while Tales From ’85 is set between seasons 2 and 3 and also brings back the main characters (voiced by a new cast) as they face several new threats related to the Upside Down. Since this was revealed, fans have taken great issue with the show, as it seemingly “breaks canon” seeing as none of the characters in the flagship series mentioned these events from Season 3 onwards.Credit: NetflixRelated: Is ‘Stranger Things: Tales From ’85’ Canon? Here’s the AnswerNew Stranger Things Season ConfirmedNow, following its April 23 premiere, The Hollywood Reporter has revealed that Tales From ’85 has already been renewed for a second season that’s expected to arrive during the fall.“The show’s renewal comes just four days after season one’s debut, which saw Tales From ’85 take the No. 7 spot on the streamer’s global top 10 list with 2.8 million views,” the outlet writes, adding that “the 10-episode first season has also officially landed in Netflix’s top 15 animated series debuts of all time.”With all that said, Tales From ’85 has received mixed reviews from audiences. On Rotten Tomatoes (as at April 29), it holds a 63% approval rating based on 30 critic reviews, and a 54% approval rating with audiences. Meanwhile, on Metacritic, which uses a “weighted average,” it holds a score of 52 out of 100 based on 17 critics, and 5.0 with audiences based on 24 user ratings, which are both categorized as “mixed or average.”Credit: NetflixTales From ’85 Confirmed as “Soft Canon”However, while the issue surrounding canon continues to divide fans, Tales From ’85 showrunner Eric Robles has told The Hollywood Reporter that the spinoff isn’t necessarily canon with the main series after all, despite previously stating that it’s like a “lost season” and how “loopholes” allowed the creative team to build a connection with the flagship series.First, he once again compared it with the animated series The Real Ghostbusters, which he previously cited as the team’s “north star.”Credit: DIC Enterprises Columbia Pictures TelevisionIn attempting to explain why the characters never mentioned their winter of 1985 adventures, Robles said, “The assignment was, ‘Hey, Eric, do you want to build this fun, frozen-in-time moment with these kids, where you think back to shows that we grew up watching in the ’80s?’ For myself, that was The Real Ghostbusters. Back then, just to be given an animated version of more adventures with the team was a dream come true. But if you’re familiar with The Real Ghostbusters, you know Ghostbusters II came out, and it wasn’t like, ‘How come they don’t talk about the Boogeyman?” — because the Boogeyman was a big part of the animated series.”“But we also have to respect certain rules and parameters,” he continued, explaining how there were also limits. “The Duffer brothers didn’t want us to go down their specific lore. Because once we open that gate and have the Mind Flayer or Vecna come out, it would have destroyed what they’d already built. If you’re a hardcore fan, you can easily plop us on and enjoy. When we talk about what is canon, I’ll tell you: It’s the personalities of these characters. We had to make sure we stayed true. If we learn a little bit more about them, it technically still fits into their timeline. It’s character growth, as opposed to world-building.”Credit: NetflixBut when asked by the outlet if the new series is “more soft canon than hard canon,” Robles said, “Exactly. There’s no possible way pumpkins were in those fields. But the science makes sense — at Eugene’s farm, you had all those vines and dead Demodogs, and Hawkins Lab had to do the big cleanup in that area. We built this scientist who created this serum and brought dead plant matter back to life, so when those spores trigger and land on any organic matter, it would technically be infected and would create something like that.”“That was actually the most difficult part of the assignment,” he continued. “In the early days of development, when Netflix approached me about this, the problem was — and many had tried prior to me — that the Duffer brothers wanted [the story] to take place inside [seasons] two and three — but you can’t open up gates. How do you create creatures if the gates are closed?”Whether Robles has made these comments to appease those frustrated with the alleged canon-breaking is unclear, but either way, this revelation will still likely further divide fans.Credit: NetflixTales From ’85 is now streaming in full on Netflix.It stars Brooklyn Davey Norstedt as Eleven, Luca Diaz as Mike Wheeler, Braxton Quinney as Dustin Henderson, Jolie Hoang-Rappaport as Max Mayfield, Elisha Williams as Lucas Sinclair, Ben Plessala as Will Byers, Odessa A’zion as Nikki Baxter, Brett Gipson as Jim Hopper, Janeane Garofalo as Anna Baxter, Griffin Burns as Jonathan Byers, Jeremy Jordan as Steve Harrington, Lou Diamond Phillips as Daniel Fischer, Robert Englund as Cosmo, Alysia Reiner as Karen Wheeler, Alessandra Antonelli as Nancy Wheeler, Valeria Rodriguez as Rosario, and Jack Griffo as Jeff.Stranger Things seasons 1–5 are also available to watch.Have you watched Tales From ’85 yet? Or are you done with Stranger Things after Season 5? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!The post After Backlash, Showrunner Says Latest ‘Stranger Things’ Season Isn’t Fully Canon appeared first on Inside the Magic.