Netflix officially orders a 'Stranger Things' prequel set in 1955, and the Duffer Brothers aren't even running it
'Other Worlds: A Stranger Things Adventure' heads to 1950s Nevada with an all-new cast, a new showrunner, and a 2028 debut. Meanwhile, Rosé performs tonight at LACMA's biggest gala of the year.
In brief
Hawkins is gone. 1955 Nevada is in.
Netflix made it official on Thursday: the Stranger Things universe is not done. Deadline reports that the streamer has ordered Other Worlds: A Stranger Things Adventure, a live-action prequel series, with a target debut of 2028. Variety confirmed the order and the title the same day. After years of will-they-won't-they, the spinoff is real.
The announcement landed on November 6, which Netflix calls Stranger Things Day. That date is not arbitrary. Good Morning America noted that November 6 is the fictional date Will Byers went missing in Hawkins, Indiana, in 1983, the inciting event of the entire original show. Fans have treated it as an unofficial holiday for years. Netflix leaned all the way in.
New decade, new town, new everything
The Hollywood Reporter says the series will shoot in New Mexico and is set in the 1950s, with an all-new cast and story. Variety adds a specific location from the teaser: Marion, Nevada, April 19, 1955. That's a decade before Henry Creel ever showed up in Hawkins, and that's the point.
Variety reports that in an interview tied to the Stranger Things series finale, Matt and Ross Duffer had teased the spinoff would explore events before Henry Creel was exposed to the otherworldly substance that gave him his powers. The 1955 setting puts the story squarely in that pre-history.
Here's the structural twist most people missed: Deadline reports the Duffers are executive producing through their Upside Down Pictures banner, but they are not running the show day-to-day. The Hollywood Reporter says Kate Trefry, a writer on the original series, is the showrunner. Deadline also names Joe Wright as director. That is a legitimately surprising hire: Wright directed Atonement and Darkest Hour, two films that have almost nothing in common with Demogorgons.
Variety flags one more wrinkle: the Duffers moved their overall deal from Netflix to Paramount in 2025, after their Netflix deal expired in April 2026. Other Worlds is carved out of that Paramount deal specifically so it can still land on Netflix. These are the kinds of contractual knots that only get tied when a franchise is worth fighting over.
Deadline notes this is the second live-action Stranger Things TV spinoff and third overall, counting the stage play The First Shadow and the animated series Tales From '85, which premiered on Netflix in April 2026 and is still awaiting a renewal decision.
Why this one matters more than the usual spinoff announcement
Stranger Things did not go out quietly. Its fifth and final season pulled enormous viewership, and the fan base is loud and organized. A spinoff announcement for most shows would generate mild interest. This one broke across entertainment Twitter and fan communities within minutes of the Netflix post. The show first rumored a spinoff in 2022, per Variety, so the wait has been long enough that the official order felt like a release valve.
Setting the story in the 1950s also gives the creative team room nobody expected. The original show lived and died on 1980s nostalgia. The 1950s is a completely different texture: Eisenhower, early rock and roll, cold war paranoia, McCarthyism, suburban conformity over a barely-suppressed dread. If the production can find that frequency, the period setting alone could carry the show somewhere the original never went.
The Hollywood Reporter quotes the Duffers: "We've been dreaming of Other Worlds: A Stranger Things Adventure for many years now, and to see it become a reality is surreal and exhilarating."
Also tonight: Rosé, DiCaprio, and Denis Villeneuve on Wilshire Boulevard
Separate from the Netflix news, Los Angeles has its own big cultural event going right now. LACMA announced in October that Rosé of Blackpink is the musical guest at the museum's 15th annual Art+Film Gala tonight, November 7, at 5905 Wilshire Boulevard. WWD reports the event honors Dune director Denis Villeneuve and artist Vija Celmins, with Gucci as presenting sponsor and Leonardo DiCaprio co-chairing for the fifteenth straight year alongside LACMA trustee Eva Chow.
ARTnews points out that Rosé follows a run of high-profile performers in that slot: Doja Cat in 2025, Charli XCX in 2024, Annie Lennox in 2017. ARTnews also notes that Rosé attended the gala in both 2022 and 2023 before landing the headlining slot this year. Yahoo Entertainment reports her solo album Rosie and the Bruno Mars collaboration "APT." have pushed her past 10 billion solo streams, with "APT." named the bestselling global single of 2025.
Past honorees at the LACMA gala have included Martin Scorsese, Quentin Tarantino, Steven Spielberg, and Ryan Coogler, per LACMA's official site. Villeneuve is in that company now.
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CAN I KICK IT? screens New Jack City at the Sylvan Theater, Washington Monument, on Aug. 22. (Courtesy SHAOLIN JAZZ)
The live-cinema series CAN I KICK IT? returns to the National Mall this month with what its producers are calling the "Gangsters on the Mall" chapter of their free outdoor summer run. On Saturday, August 22, the SHAOLIN JAZZ production brings the 1991 crime classic New Jack City to the Sylvan Theater at the Washington Monument for a night of film, music, and community under the DC summer sky.
What sets the event apart is the sound. As the film plays, DJ 2-Tone Jones builds an original score in real time, reimagining one of the most iconic crime movies of the ’90s through hip-hop, soul, funk, and more. It is less a movie screening than a live performance built around the film.
The details:
Film: New Jack City (1991), with a live soundtrack by DJ 2-Tone Jones
When: Saturday, August 22 — seating opens at 7:30 p.m. (bring lawn chairs and blankets); film begins at 8:30 p.m.
Where: Sylvan Theater at the Washington Monument, Independence Ave SW & 15th St NW
A parking note from the organizers: expect road closures and restricted parking east of 14th Street NW due to a separate race event in the District. Roads west of 14th Street NW will be accessible and available for parking.
New Jack City is the second of three screenings in this year’s free CAN I KICK IT? outdoor series, which opened with Black Panther at Skyland Town Center and concludes with Scarface at the Lincoln Memorial on September 5. Produced by the Washington, DC-based multimedia arts company SHAOLIN JAZZ, the series has presented more than 150 live cinematic experiences at venues across the country, from Lincoln Center to SXSW.
"I wanted to be able to tell good stories with substance and remove the ‘ego’ out of the art," said Andrew Huang during a recent interview. Now, he’s building his career at the intersection of discipline, creativity and innovation.
Andrew Huang, founder of New Place Studios. (Courtesy photo)
As a Chinese American, Huang was reared with a deep respect for hard work, consistency and excellence. He describes his childhood as "not so affluent" and later attended college to hone his passion for videography. "In college I tried to do something I loved, which was video, but along the way I knew that I had to find a job. And so I thought, ‘what was the low hanging fruit to get to that stable 9 to 5 job?,’" he stated.
Later in life, Huang found himself working for corporations where his creativity was often limited, eventually leading to burnout. "I worked in a corporation for a long time and there were a lot of missing pieces. I wanted to fill in gaps missing in corporate video production," said Huang.
He later described how his upbringing and a mindset of "survival" led him toward a corporate career. However, his desire for balance and authentic storytelling ultimately pushed him to take the entrepreneurial leap.
"I founded a new place where you can create video and film with ‘substance and style,’" said Huang. His desire for work-life balance and passion for storytelling naturally evolved into a small business based in Virginia. With the launch of New Place Studios, the entrepreneur quickly found himself reconnecting with the values that would become the foundation of everything he creates behind the camera.
Huang said being a business owner has allowed him to first embrace himself. While others may see video as simply capturing moments, he sees it as a way to preserve stories that inspire, connect and leave a lasting imprint.
By combining cinematic visuals with cutting-edge production techniques and a keen understanding of branding, Huang helps organizations and individuals communicate their vision with purpose. He said understanding a client’s "why" serves as the compass for delivering the services they need.
One benefit of working with a small business, he said, is that clients get to see the production process unfold through a micro lens while working with the same faces throughout the entire project. "The work feels personal," said Huang.
Huang does not regret leaving behind the flash-over-substance mentality and corporate hustle culture. That does not mean the Asian American entrepreneur has been without challenges in the industry. "It’s relatively hard to find other Asian American creatives or people who would want to work with me in the DMV," said Huang.
He identifies the industry culture in which everyone is trying to blend in, creatives may fear displaying their Asian identity and some feel pressure to adopt an American corporate persona. He also points to what he describes as a level of gatekeeping within the industry. According to the U.S. Small Business Administration’s 2024 statistics, Asian American and Pacific Islander entrepreneurs own more than 3 million businesses and employ 5.2 million people in the United States.
After tapping into organizations such as SCORE, which offers free small business mentorship, New Place Studios has become a trusted creative partner throughout the DMV (Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia). The company produces a range of creative services, including commercials, corporate branding, documentaries, film, 2D animation, motion graphics and photography.
For Huang, entrepreneurship has become more than a departure from corporate life. It has given him the freedom to create with intention, build meaningful connections and tell stories that go beyond the surface.
The 2026 CAN I KICK IT? outdoor series. Poster courtesy of SHAOLIN JAZZ.
For three Saturdays this summer, some of Washington’s most familiar public spaces will do something they rarely do after dark: fill up with blankets, lawn chairs, and the sound of a movie being scored live, in real time. CAN I KICK IT?, the traveling “live cinema” series produced by the DC-based multimedia arts company SHAOLIN JAZZ, is bringing a free outdoor run to the city — pairing three era-defining films with an original soundtrack performed on the spot by DJ 2-Tone Jones.
The premise is what sets it apart from a normal screening in the park. Rather than simply pressing play, 2-Tone Jones builds a score as the film unfolds, pulling from hip-hop, soul, funk, jazz, rock, electronic music, and sounds from around the world. The result, the organizers say, is less a movie night than a one-time performance — the same film you know, wired to a soundtrack you have never heard and will not hear again. Guest DJs warm up the crowd starting at 7:30 PM before each 8:30 PM screening.
The 2026 outdoor schedule
All three events are free and open to the public.
Saturday, August 8 — Black Panther at Skyland Town Center. A pop-up marketplace and community activities kick off the evening; guest DJs at 7:30 PM, film at 8:30 PM. Marvel’s superhero epic gets a one-night-only live score in Southeast DC.
Saturday, August 22 — New Jack City at the Sylvan Theater, Washington Monument. Seating begins at 7:30 PM; the film starts at 8:30 PM. The 1991 crime drama plays out at the foot of one of the country’s most recognizable landmarks.
Saturday, September 5 — Scarface at the Lincoln Memorial. Seating at 7:30 PM; film at 8:30 PM. The series closes with Brian De Palma’s crime saga against the backdrop of the Memorial, scored live from start to finish.
First up: Black Panther at Skyland Town Center on August 8. Poster courtesy of SHAOLIN JAZZ.
A DC company with a national footprint
SHAOLIN JAZZ describes itself as a Washington-based arts company working at the intersection of music, film, art, and culture, and CAN I KICK IT? is its signature production. According to the organizers, the series has staged more than 150 live cinematic experiences around the country — at performing arts centers, museums, festivals, and cultural institutions including Lincoln Center in New York, SXSW, the Denver Center for the Performing Arts, Republic Square in Austin, the Tacoma Armory, and The Cary Theater.
“CAN I KICK IT? has always been about creating a shared experience,” said Gerald Watson, co-founder of SHAOLIN JAZZ. “When you combine iconic films with live music in public spaces, something special happens. People aren’t just watching a movie — they’re experiencing it together. That’s what makes these nights so memorable.”
Cinema as a community event
The DC run lands as cities across the country look for new ways to activate public space through arts and culture — and this series is a straightforward pitch for how to do it: take a landmark everyone already knows, add a film everyone has an opinion about, and let a live soundtrack turn the evening into something neighbors experience shoulder to shoulder. Families, film buffs, and music fans are all invited, and admission won’t cost a thing.
The CAN I KICK IT? outdoor series runs August 8, August 22, and September 5. All events are free; check SHAOLIN JAZZ (shaolinjazz.com) for the latest details and any weather updates before heading out.
