We Ranked Every Duffer Brothers TV Show — From Misfires to Masterpieces

Stranger Things turned the Duffer Brothers into a brand, which is both great and a headache. Anything with their fingerprints on it now gets measured against bikes, synths, and the Upside Down. Some folks expect another lightning strike; others just want something solid and different. So I took stock of everything they’ve created or produced for TV and ranked the shows from worst to best based on three things: narrative consistency, a clear identity, and whether they actually push beyond the formula they helped popularize.

The shows, ranked

1. Stranger Things: Tales from '85

   On paper, this animated spin-off makes sense: keep fans hanging out with the Hawkins crew a little longer, but do it in a medium that can go bigger, weirder, and cheaper than live-action. The series wedges itself between Seasons 2 and 3 and plays out like a set of standalone, case-of-the-week detours tied to the Upside Down.

   The Duffers are credited as creators and executive producers, but they weren’t steering it day to day, more consulting than captaining. And you can feel that. The show looks different but rarely adds anything substantial to the mythology or the characters. It’s basically the Stranger Things vibe on shuffle. Not a mess, not a must. It even scored a Season 2 renewal, but it’s still the most skippable thing with their names on it.

2. Something Very Bad Is Going to Happen

   This one arrived with pressure because it was the first non-Stranger Things project tied to the brothers. The premise rules: a couple on the edge of getting married starts tripping over odd, then outright inexplicable events, and the show gradually pivots from relationship drama into a psychological thriller with horror teeth.

   The early episodes hum with relatable paranoia in a totally ordinary setting, which is a smart way to hook you. The issue is stamina. The tension doesn’t hold all season, the pacing drifts, and a few of the bigger swings don’t stick the landing. Concept: strong. Execution: fine, not definitive. It isn’t disposable, but it doesn’t plant a flag either.

3. The Boroughs

   Easily their most interesting produced series so far because it ditches the usual kid-centric lens. We’re following a group of older residents in a sleepy suburb as the supernatural creeps in, and they’re forced to face something they don’t understand and definitely can’t control.

   What works is the reframing: the structure and slow-burn mystery feel familiar if you know the Duffers’ playbook, but the emotional beats land differently when the heroes are navigating late-life realities. It’s thematically richer and genuinely fresh in spots, even if it never fully escapes the Stranger Things gravity well. Solid season, makes you curious about a second one, but still not a complete reinvention.

4. Stranger Things

   Endgame debates aside (yes, the finale split people and left some gaps), this is the one that will follow them forever. It starts with a missing kid in a small 80s town and unspools into secret government experiments, a parallel dimension, and a scrappy group of friends pushed into the center of cosmic nonsense.

   The alchemy still hits: mystery, horror, character drama, and nostalgia in near-perfect balance. It isn’t just vibes; the story actually moves, the world-building grows, and the characters evolve in ways that stuck to the ribs of pop culture. Flaws and all, it’s the most complete, fully realized thing they’ve made. Hard not to put it at No. 1.

Big picture: the Duffers are clearly trying to stretch without snapping what people love about their work. When they color too close to the lines, you feel it. When they shift the point of view or the life stage, things get interesting. The question post-Stranger Things is less "Can they do it again?" and more "How far are they willing to wander?" I’m hoping for weirder, riskier, and a little meaner. Let’s see if they go there.