Stranger Things recently shut down production for the highly-anticipated fifth season in support of the Writer’s Guild of America strike, which means that people are probably watching the first four seasons over and over again in anticipation. Of course, you can only watch those first four seasons so many times. If you’re looking for something to fill the supernatural hole in your heart while we wait for the fifth season to finally come out, check out these other equally engaging Netflix shows.
5. Sweet Tooth
Sweet Tooth is the perfect substitute for those who love the fantasy and coming-of-age elements of Stranger Things. Like the latter show, it also has creative world-building and a unique story to tell. Sweet Tooth takes place in a post-apocalyptic world that was ravaged by a strange virus, killing much of humanity. In this world, human-animal hybrids emerge, which are feared and sometimes hunted by the rest of humanity. Sweet Tooth follows one of these human-animal hybrids, a young half-deer boy named Gus, as he sets out to find his mother after the death of his adoptive father.
Sweet Tooth is a critically-acclaimed series well-loved for its mysterious world and charming tale of survival and coming-of-age. Those who get hooked by the first season will also be delighted to find out that the second season was recently released, so you have plenty of episodes to binge. Best of all, Netflix also confirmed that the third and final season is on the way so that fans will get closure to the Sweet Tooth story.
4. The Umbrella Academy
Another series that’s based on a comic book of the same name, The Umbrella Academy. Those who love the supernatural drama and apocalyptic underpinnings of Stranger Things should find plenty to love about this show. The Umbrella Academy follows a group of supernatural adopted superhero siblings who reunite to solve the mystery of their father’s death and stop an impending apocalypse.
It also has a star-studded cast that includes the likes of Elliot Page, Tom Hopper, David Castaneda, Emmy Raver-Lampman, Robert Sheehan, Aidan Gallagher, Cameron Britton, Mary J. Blige, John Magaro, Adam Godley, Colm Feore, Justin H. Min, Ritu Arya, Yusuf Gatewood, Marin Ireland, Kate Walsh, Genesis Rodriguez, and Britne Oldford. Those who like the darker aspects of Stranger Things will appreciate that The Umbrella Academy gets darker as it goes, earning a TV-MA rating for the third season after being TV-14 for the first two seasons. Now is the perfect time to binge all three seasons as we await the fourth and final season of the series.
3. Squid Game
Squid Game and Stranger Things don’t have a lot in common as far as plot and theme go, but the one thing they do have in common is that they are massively successful cultural phenomenons that bring in more viewers than any other Netflix shows. If you want to be in on the cultural zeitgeist, they’re both basically required viewing. They also both have highly-anticipated upcoming seasons for which we still don’t know the release dates, so there’s that too. Oh, and they both have plenty of dying.
Squid Game follows a desperate group of money-strapped contestants in South Korea who are offered to play a series of children’s games for a large cash prize. The catch? All of these games could lead to your untimely death. Squid Game is a rollercoaster the whole way through, and every episode will absolutely keep you on the edge of your seat. The series is anchored by compelling performances from the cast that includes Lee Jung-jae, Park Hae-soo, Wi Ha-joon, HoYeon Jung, O Yeong-su, Heo Sung-tae, Anupam Tripathi, and Kim Joo-ryoung. Make sure to check it out before the second season drops who knows when
2. Boo, Bitch
Those who like their teen comedies a little more lighthearted will find what they’re looking for with Boo, Bitch. Boo, Bitch is another newer Netflix comedy that sees Erika, played by Lana Condor, attending her first big high school party only to get accidentally killed and wake up as a ghost. Stuck in her ghost form, Erika must contend with her new status in the not-quite afterlife and figure out how to live as a ghost.
As far as groundbreaking television goes, Boo, Bitch might not be the most mind-blowing show, but it’s plenty entertaining. Those who enjoy the teenage antics and supernatural elements of Stranger Things will likely be charmed by Boo, Bitch, but don’t expect it to go into quite the same level of gory horror territory as one of Netflix’s biggest hits. Still, Lana Condor anchors the show with her charming performance, and the first season is well worth a watch if you’re in the mood for a lighthearted comedy and while it doesn’t quite stick the landing in the second half, viewers should stay entertained pretty much the whole way through.
1. Wednesday
Wednesday just dropped its first season right at the tail end of 2022 and instantly took the Internet by storm. From the iconic Wednesday dance by Jenna Ortega to the darkly gothic Nevermore Academy, the show just seemed to hit all the right notes. The show followed the titular, enigmatic Addams Family daughter as she attended Nevermore Academy and uncovered shocking secrets about her family’s past.
Wednesday was played to pitch-perfect deadpan perfection by Jenna Ortega, and fans are already clamoring for more. The series also has a great supporting cast that includes Emma Myers, Hunter Doohan, Percy Hynes White, Luis Guzman, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Gwendoline Christie, Georgie Farmer, Fred Armisen, Joy Sunday, and Isaac Ordonez. Those who enjoy the darker, supernatural elements of Stranger Things, the coming-of-age storytelling, and the mysteries will find a lot to love about Wednesday. Unfortunately, there’s only one season of the show for now, but it has already been renewed for a second season.
