Although the length of mini-feature films, at only four episodes long it feels like Stranger Things season five, volume one, was over before it truly began.
The highly anticipated quartet marks the beginning of the final season, which will come to a dramatic conclusion over Christmas Day and New Year’s Eve with an epically long finale to ring in 2026.
The brand new batch has already raked in rave reviews across the board with critics calling it a ‘masterpiece’ and a ‘thrill ride’ while fans praise it for meeting the high standard set by the previous seasons for tantalising action.
Now, with a month more to wait for Volume 2 and the definitive end on the horizon, you may have a hankering for more epic sci-fi shows to completely lose yourself in.
So if you’re the type of person who shuts their eyes and arrives in the Upside Down to battle Vecna, then look no further. These five TV shows will plug the gap Eleven and the gang have left behind.
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Dark
A small town with a strange history, a missing child, and a supernatural mystery at the heart of it all. Sound familiar? No, it’s not Stranger Things, it’s German thriller series, Dark.
Set across three generations (and three seasons), this mind-bending, time-hopping series has thrilled and delighted fans over the years.
As the synopsis reads: ‘When two children go missing in a small German town, its sinful past is exposed along with the double lives and fractured relationships that exist among four families as they search for the kids.’
The eerie sci-fi series has secured an impressive 95% critics and 94% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes.
Digital Spy teased ‘there are serious rewards for the patient’ (something Stranger Things fans have spades of) and Vox called it ‘beautiful, mysterious, and a little bit maddening.’
Dark is available to stream on Netflix now.
Orphan Black
You can’t get more classic than Orphan Black, especially when it comes to the dark, slightly mind-boggling themes that we all know and love from Stranger Things.
Starring Tatiana Maslany as not one, not two, but 17 different clone versions of her character, the series showcases outstanding acting and a relentlessly intriguing plot.
When con artist Sarah witnesses a woman who looks identical to her jump in front of a train, it opens up a can of worms that will completely change her life, and the world, forever.
The show, which has averaged a sweet 93% on Rotten Tomatoes, has a whopping five seasons (50 episodes) to delve into and has been hailed as ‘brilliant’, ‘underrated’ and ‘stellar’.
Orphan Black is available to stream on ITVX and Netflix now.
Alice in Borderland
When it comes to Alice in Borderland, think Squid Games meets Stranger Things – yes, you read that epic combination correctly.
For people who loved the spooky parallel between regular Earth and the Upside Down – and Will’s supernatural journey to escape, this will be right down your alley.
The three-season sci-fi fantasy survival thriller follows lost gamer Arisu, who is transported to an alternate Tokyo that is utterly empty and desolate. From here, he becomes part of a game bigger than he ever could have imagined.
Or, in the spirit of the show, viewers will get completely sucked into the rabbit hole so be prepared for a ‘gut-wrenching’ and jam-packed with ‘twists and turns.
Alice in Borderland is available to stream on Netflix now.
The Umbrella Academy
We couldn’t make a list about a slightly freaky sci-fi show with a mass following that didn’t include The Umbrella Academy.
For the uninitiated, this is your sign to tune in to this (more lighthearted than the last) show follows an adopted group of siblings born in the 80s who use their superpowers to prevent world-ending disasters.
It deals with time travel, familial trauma, and big bads that could rival Vecna for the throne to the Upside Down – so for people who love the thrilling action-packed showdowns and high world-changing stakes, this is the one for you.
It also features a star-studded cast including Elliot Page, Tom Hopper, Robert Sheehan and Ritu Arya, to name a few.
Fans have called it a ‘different take on the superhero franchise’ and ‘unexpected and quirky’, certainly making it a unique watch to add to the list.
The Umbrella Academy is available to stream on Netflix now.
The Midnight Club
Last, but not least, is perhaps an overlooked and understated supernatural watch for your list, Netflix’s Midnight Club.
Definitely landing on the creepier, more horror end of the spectrum, this one-season coming-of-age show packs a powerful punch.
As well as offering an otherworldly element, it’s also great for lovers of the early seasons of Stranger Things who enjoyed the nostalgic aesthetic, young cast and storytelling.
From Mike Flanagan, the show follows eight terminally ill teens in a hospice centre in the 1990s where they gather to swap spooky stories – and confront their own mortality along the way.
Slant praised its exploration of ‘the power of storytelling as a means of reckoning with the unfathomable’ while Collider named it Flanagan’s ‘most emotional outing to date’.
The Midnight Club is available to stream on Netflix now.
Stranger Things seasons one to five (part one) are streaming on Netflix now.
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