For some fans, it already feels like a lifetime ago since Netflix closed the book on Stranger Things with a fifth and final season so divisive fans even concocted a theory about a secret final, final episode.

One antidote to the turmoil of the cult show wrapping up after almost 10 years, was the promise of spin-offs, the first being an animated series shaped by original creators the Duffer brothers.

Tales From ’85 arrived on Netflix this week, and although it may have received mixed reviews from the critics, plenty of fans have been won over by the fresh invention, while others are left wondering about future instalments in the sc-fi saga outside the animated series.

Here’s everything we know about the future of Stranger Things…

Netflix is yet to make an official announcement on that front. However, based on what the cast and creators are saying, it hasn’t been ruled out.

What we do know is that showrunner Eric Robles is interested in exploring those characters further in the future, and making sure it ties in cleanly with the rest of the Stranger Things universe.

“The hopes are, if we continue with the series, we’ll make sure that we kind of tie it right back to the beginning of season three,” he told the Radio Times, referring to Tales From ’85 and its taking place between the events of season two and three of the original Netflix series.

Meanwhile Brooklyn Davey Norstedt – who voices Eleven in the series, taking over from Millie Bobby Brown – is also keen for a fresh run of episodes.

“That would be amazing,” she enthused when asked about a second season. “I know they definitely have ideas,.

“I think, right now, they’re really focused on the launch of season one,” Brooklyn added. “I think it’s going to be a great one for families to see together. We’re just all very pumped for the first season, and if anything else comes from it, that would be great.”

Whether or not it comes to fruition, it looks like Tales From ’85 has been left in such a way that a second season would be an easy pick-up.

As well as finishing on a cliffhanger, there are some characters still knocking around at the end of the series that we know don’t exist in the original Stranger Things universe, such as Marty Supreme star Odessa A’zion’s character, Nikki.

With showrunner Robles already saying he hopes to bring Tales From ’85 right back round to where season three of the original Netflix show begins, that means there’s some loose ends (and characters) to tie up.

Sadly, there’s no way back for the Stranger Things we know and love.

Making the wise decision to quit while they’re ahead and dodge any “gross cash grabs”, the Duffer brothers have remained firm in their stance that season five was the final chapter for the existing cast and the world they inhabited.

In an interview with the Hollywood Reporter shortly after season five finished, Matt Duffer explained: “Mike’s closing the basement door. We’re closing the door on the story.”

“That’s one reason we had the closing credits the way we did, because it was a way of saying: ‘This is finite. This is the end of their story. It’s the end of the story of Mike and Eleven and Joyce and Hopper’.” he added.

“So, no, there’s no plan or intention to tell the story because it’s a coming-of age story. Ultimately, that’s what it’s supposed to be. That’s what the show always was. When he closes the door to the basement, he’s closing the door on his childhood and he’s moving onto adulthood.”

We won’t hold our breath, then.

While it’s the end of live-action Stranger Things in its original format, the Duffer brothers have teased an intriguing addition to the universe.

“It’s early days but we’re excited about it,” Matt Duffer told the BBC back in November. “It’s new characters and a new mystery, so it’s different, but it will be in the same world as Stranger Things.”

One person who’s clued up on the spin-off is Finn Wolfhard aka Mike, who accidentally guessed the plot of the series and confirmed that, unlike Stranger Things, the new project wouldn’t be set in the 1980s.

Finn previously spoke to Variety about that prediction, saying it would be “like David Lynch’s Twin Peaks” and “sort of an anthology” with “different tones” but a “similar” or “same universe”.

Stage show Stranger Things: The First Shadow is booking in London until 6 September 2026, or if you fancy a trip across the pond you can also see it on Broadway.

The First Shadow show is set in Hawkins, 1959 “before the world turned upside down” and is based on an original story by the Duffer Brothers.

It also features well-known characters like Joyce, Jim Hopper and Dr Brenner played by stage actors and has picked up five-star reviews for its “truly dark” take on the franchise.

Earlier this year, it was also reported that the Broadway play had been recorded for a rumoured Netflix special.

Stranger Things and season one of Tales From ’85 are both streaming now on Netflix.

The more emotionally robust among us might have already plunged straight into Baby Reindeer creator Richard Gadd’s new series Half Man. To those people we say congratulations – and can we maybe have the number for your therapist?

Already hoovering up praise and criticism alike for its “emotionally shattering” depiction of two brothers and the fragility of male relationships, the BBC is perhaps wisely drip-feeding one new episode of Half Man every Friday, rather than releasing the whole series at once.

Meanwhile, if you’re a regular TV viewer, you’ll likely have seen more than a few members of the cast – led by Richard and co-star Jamie Bell – before.

Here’s why the stars of Half Man might look familiar…

Comedian, actor and writer Richard made his major breakthrough with the six-time Emmy-winning Netflix series Baby Reindeer, an adaptation of his one-man comedy show about his own experiences of sexual violence and being stalked.

If you don’t recognise him from that, or his irreverent stand-up comedy career, you might have seen him in the 2022 Disney+ action comedy series Wedding Season, where he had a recurring role as Conrad.

Richard has also appeared opposite Stephen Graham and Daniel Mays in cop comedy Code 404 as well as appearing in the likes of Clique, Urban Myths, Humans and Outlander.

Jamie Bell burst onto the scene as a child actor, playing unlikely ballet dancer Billy Elliot in the 2000 film of the same name, which made him the youngest person to win a Bafta for Best Actor, aged just 14.

Since then, he’s appeared as The Thing in Marvel’s Fantastic Four, as well as films as varied as The Adventures of Tintin, All Of Us Strangers (as Andrew Scott’s dad, no less), Rocketman, Nymphomaniac, Film Stars Don’t Die In Liverpool and Jane Eyre.

On the small screen, Jamie most recently starred as serial killer Harper Curtis in Apple TV+ sci-fi series Shining Girls, alongside Elisabeth Moss.

He also portrayed real-life spy Abraham Woodhull in the historical drama series Turn: Washington’s Spies, and was recently announced to be taking over from Cillian Murphy as the lead in the new Peaky Blinders spin-off.

Neve McIntosh most recently appeared as Miss Harbottle in the Channel 5 series All Creatures Great & Small, but she had a string of TV and film appearances under her belt long before that.

You might have also seen Neve in Doctor Who, where she’s appeared as three different characters – silurian sisters Alaya and Restac as well as Madame Vastra.

Her other TV credits include Gormenghast, Doc Martin, The Hound Of The Baskervilles, Bodies, Single Father, Stan Lee’s Lucky Man, Shetland and Tin Star.

Theatre-goers, meanwhile, might have seen her in the Royal Shakespeare Company’s production of Charles Dickens’ Great Expectations in 2006.

Soap devotees will know Charlie De Melo for his role as Coronation Street’s Imran Habeeb, which he played between 2017 and 2022.

As well as doing the soap rounds (he’s also appeared in Eastenders, Doctors and Casualty) Charlie has also appeared in The Interceptor, Still Up, Doctor Who and Ellis.

He also played Malhar Verma in three episodes of Disney+’s wildly-popular Jilly Cooper adaptation Rivals.

Bilal Hasna made his Bafta-nominated breakthrough in the superhero comedy series Extraordinary, where he played time manipulator Kash.

He also had a lead role in Prime Video comedy thriller Dead Hot, while Black Mirror aficionados might also have clocked Bilal in season seven finale USS Callister: Into Infinity.

Over on the big screen, Bilal played the titular British-Palestinian drag queen in Layla, and more recently appeared in the Bollywood-meets-Dickens festive film Christmas Karma.

As well as playing Alice Guppy in Torchwood, Amy Manson has had TV roles in everything from Casualty to Desperate Romantics, Being Human, Outcasts, The Nevers and Once Upon A Time.

Most recently, she’s appeared as Giselle in Netflix’s The Diplomat as well as Paramount+ series The Chemistry Of Death, Bodies (along with Half Man co-star Neve) and the BBC’s Scottish crime drama Rebus.

Our favourite role of hers, though, has to be when she appeared as the hallucinated Anne Boleyn in the Princess Diana drama Spencer, appearing opposite Kristen Stewart.

Stuart McQuarrie has had some punchy film roles to date, appearing in 28 Days Later, Trainspotting, Blood, Mr Turner and The Nest to name a few.

On TV, you might have seen him in Taggart, Silent Witness, Foundation, The Tower, Shetland, Life Begins or The Crown, where he played British politician George Thomson.

More recently, he’s appeared in The Rig as Colin Murchison opposite Iain Glen, Emily Hampshire, Martin Compston and Mark Bonnar.

Comedy fans will likely recognise Tim Downie from his appearances in classic series like Peep Show (where he played Mark Corrigan’s dodgy literary agent), as well as Toast Of London, Miranda, Heading Out, Upstart Crow, Chewing Gum and Hapless.

Tim’s also cropped up in drama series like Nicola Coughlan’s Big Mood, Jekyll & Hyde and Skins.

Film buffs might recognise him from his roles in The King’s Speech, Les Misérables, Paddington, War Machine and The Mercy.

Episode one of Half Man is streaming on BBC iPlayer now, with new instalments every Friday.

We’ve written before at HuffPost UK about how olive oil might not be the best choice for roasting spuds.

It turns out the kind of oil you use for nonstick pans matters no matter what you’re cooking in them, too.

According to cookware brand Circulon, “there are several reasons to avoid using cooking sprays on your nonstick cookware”.

Speaking to the New York Times’ Wirecutter, Fran Groesbeck, a managing director of the Cookware and Bakeware Alliance trade association, said that – ironically – some non-stick sprays can ruin the coating on your pans.

They can leave a thin film behind after use, she said, and it’s especially hard to spot on nonstick pans.

“You can’t necessarily see that residue, because nonstick coatings are all black, but if you don’t properly clean it off after you’re done cooking, then your food will start to stick.”

This film is made up of ingredients not usually seen in non-spray oils, like soy lecithin. As they linger on an often-reheated pan, they polymerise, becoming next-to-impossible to remove.

But that’s not the only unwanted side effect. Because these sprays typically have a lower smoke point than many other oils, they begin to burn on your pan – corroding the nonstick surface further.

Speaking to EatingWell, cookware company Our Place’s associate director of product development, Stephanie Hong, said: “Many spray oils also contain chemical propellants, which are prone to breaking down under high heat. This instability can lead to scorching, residue buildup and long-term damage to the nonstick surface, ultimately causing the very sticking you were trying to avoid.”

If you want to use less oil, try wiping your nonstick pan with a paper towel dipped in your usual oil, Circulon shared.

Alternatively, you could place regular oils in a mister bottle, though Hong warns this could carry its own risks.

“The ultra-fine oil particles (even from pure oil options or refillable oil-misters) can burn and carbonise during cooking, leaving behind a stubborn residue that bonds to the pan’s surface and gradually impacts the pan’s nonstick performance,” she told EatingWell.

She added, “To preserve the quality and lifespan of your nonstick pans, skip aerosol sprays” altogether.

From his early beginnings as a child actor to his stand-out performance in Netflix’s Sex Education, Asa Butterfield has become one of the most recognisable British actors of his generation.

Asa recently reunited with the streaming service for the British drama Unchosen, in which he plays a lead role opposite Molly Windsor and Fra Fee.

In the dark psychological thriller, he plays one half of a young couple living in a religious sect, whose lives are turned upside down thanks to the arrival of a new face in their community, who poses questions for both of them.

But aside from the roles you might associate with Asa, there are plenty more you’ve likely forgotten all about.

Here are nine more of Asa’s past shows and films from long before Unchosen that might have totally slipped your mind…

While people generally think of The Boy In The Striped Pyjamas, Hugo or the Nanny McPhee sequel when it comes to Asa Butterfield’s early work as a child performer, he actually started acting before any of that.

In 2007, he had a minor role in the British comedy Son Of Rambow, appearing alongside a number of other future stars of his generation, most notably Will Poulter.

Asa had a small role in the film, playing a young member of the Plymouth Brethren.

A year after his big-screen debut, Asa appeared in the first season of the period drama Ashes To Ashes, itself a spin-off of Life On Mars.

Then just 11 years old, Asa played a small role in the show’s sixth episode, appearing as schoolboy Donny, in an episode which also guest starred Phil Davis.

That same year, Asa landed the role of Mordred in Merlin, a young Druid who quickly forms a bond with Morgana in season one.

Asa went on to appear in three episodes of the BBC fantasy series, which featured Colin Morgan as the titular wizard in his younger years.

Mordred was reintroduced later in the series, but had been recast, with Alexander Vlahos taking over the role from season five.

Based on the novel series of the same name by Orson Scott Card, Ender’s Game was one of Asa’s first leading roles.

In the sci-fi adventure, he played Ender Wiggin, a young man in a dystopian future who is sent to an advanced military academy where he is trained to prepare for an alien invasion.

Abigail Breslin starred as Asa’s sister Valentine, with the all-star cast also including Harrison Ford, Viola Davis, Sir Ben Kingsley and Hailee Steinfeld.

One of celebrated director Tim Burton’s most overlooked offerings came in 2016, when Miss Peregrine’s Home For Peculiar Children arrived in cinemas.

Asa played teenager Jake Portman, one of the central “peculiar children”, in the family movie, which also featured Eva Green, Dame Judi Dench and Samuel L Jackson.

While the film itself was met with a somewhat lukewarm reception, Asa’s performance was well-received, even sparking comparisons with another former Tim Burton collaborator, Johnny Depp and earning him a Teen Choice Award nomination.

Asa played a romantic hypochondriac working as an airport baggage handler, who strikes up an unlikely friendship with a terminally-ill teenager, played by Game Of Thrones star Maisie Williams, in Then Came You.

When the two friends become close, Maisie’s character enlists her new pal to help her carry out her eccentric bucket list in the time she has list, helping him learn life lessons, come out of his shell and face life-long fears along the way.

Then Came You was met with a muted response upon its release in 2018, with the cast also including Nina Dobrev as Asa’s love interest, Peyton List and Tituss Burgess.

The same year he was sharing the screen with Maisie Williams in Then Came You, he was cast as fellow Game Of Thrones star Sophie Turner’s love interest in another film.

In Time Freak, Asa played a Physics prodigy going through a break-up, who decides to go back to the beginning of his relationship in an attempt to try and work out where things went wrong.

However, through this process, he – naturally – stumbles upon the art of time travel, which he uses to try and fix the situation. You won’t believe this… but it has complicated results.

The black comedy Greed featured Steve Coogan in the lead role of a billionaire high-street fashion tycoon, loosely inspired by Philip Green, who employs a meek and mild-mannered journalist (played by comedian David Mitchell) to help him pen his memoirs.

Greed, a satire on the fashion industry and super-wealthy elite, featured a sprawling cast that included everyone from Isla Fisher and Shirley Henderson to reality star Ollie Locke and Doctor Who’s Pearl Mackie (with cameo appearances from Stephen Fry, Colin Firth, Keira Knightley, James Blunt, Keith Richards, the late Caroline Flack and, for some reason, Louis Walsh).

Asa played Steve’s character’s son, who had an unhealthy obsession with usurping his father’s position and status.

The Netflix original horror Choose Or Die centred around a fictitious video game platform that forces its users to make split decisions (putting is in mind slightly of the now-removed Black Mirror special Bandersnatch) with potentially fatal results.

Asa played one half of a pair of friends who become obsessed with the game, alongside an eclectic cast that included everyone from former Coronation Street star Angela Griffin and Eddie Marson to Nightmare On Elm Street’s own Robert Englund, playing a demented version of himself.

Unchosen is now streaming on Netflix.

We all know kids and teens are reading less – and an increasing number are enjoying it less, too.

The stats speak for themselves. When The National Literacy Trust polled almost 115,000 kids in early 2025, it found just one in three (32.7%) kids aged eight to 18 years old said they enjoyed reading in their free time.

This marked a 36% decrease in reading enjoyment levels since 2005.

Among teens, particularly boys, reading enjoyment drops even more. One in five (18.8% of) boys aged 14 to 16 report enjoying reading, compared to 37.7% of girls.

It’s not just a UK issue, either. In a US-based survey of Gen Z students by Walton Family Foundation and Gallup, 35% admitted they disliked reading, with 43% saying they rarely or never did it for fun.

In a TikTok video, a teacher known as Ms C, admitted one of her students had revealed they’d never finished a book before.

Discussing why older kids are reading less, she said there are “many reasons” like “increased pressure inside and outside of school, a desire to spend more time socialising, and, of course, the phones”.

But an even more “obvious” reason, she said, is that “adults have lowered the bar for how much you should read as a teenager” to the point where “the bar cannot be found”.

She explained: “There are many educators who have the mindset that you shouldn’t teach whole books because kids just won’t read them.”

“In the past I’ve taught at schools where teaching novels is actually discouraged,” she claimed.

I asked teachers and school librarians in the UK for their two cents on why kids are falling way out of love with reading by the time they reach their teens.

Sol Elliott, librarian at Overton Grange School, suggested more time spent online, especially on social media, plays a key part: “The technology that brings a lot of young people towards reading also keeps far more people away from it.

“The dopamine hit of social media use is hard to compete with, especially when we are working with people whose brains are developing quickly.”

Sarah Parsons, director of education at the Ted Wragg Multi Academy Trust, said: “Sadly, we see in our schools that teens find it hard to maintain the reading habits that they may have developed during primary school.

“Increasing demands on their time both within and beyond the classroom, combined with the growing influence of technology, have all contributed to a decline in regular reading among our teenagers.”

Research suggests there was a 52% increase in children’s screen time between 2020 and 2022. Kids aged eight to 14 years old who use the internet spend an average of 2 hours 59 minutes a day online across smartphones, tablets and computers, typically on YouTube, Snapchat, Google (search), Facebook and WhatsApp.

Nat Parnell, CEO of the Westcountry Schools Trust, also suggested social media plays a major role in teens reading less: “The risk is that the short bursts of gratification teenagers get from social media and texting are far more immediately satisfying than reading, which requires much greater effort before enjoyment is reached. It is not really a fair competition.”

Besides being a nice way to switch off and unwind, there are several benefits to kids reading for pleasure. It helps introduce children to a range of experiences and viewpoints, which can help build empathy. It can also boost confidence and spark creativity.

Reading enjoyment has also been reported as more important for children’s educational success than their family’s socio-economic status, and it’s linked to higher scores in reading assessments.

Schools are trying to address the reading crisis – but it’s not easy. Parnell said their schools ensure all students have structured reading opportunities. “We also banned mobile phones in school some time ago,” she noted.

Parsons said their are a few strategies they’re deploying to try and boost reading: providing dedicated time each week for independent reading, for example, as well as exposing kids to texts that stimulate meaningful discussion and debate.

For Elliott, it’s been a case of tailoring the school library collection to the pupils’ tastes “in the hope that they will pick up a healthy reading habit as they grow up”.

“A lot of these choices are informed by internet trends and TikTok friendly genres (Fantasy, Romance, Manga etc.),” said the librarian.

“I genuinely fear for the health of our society if a meaningful cohort of young people are not reading regularly and interacting with serious literature,” Elliott added.

“I am optimistic, though, that when a school is sensitive to its young readers and pays attention to their interests that we can help them turn into regular readers.

“All reading is good reading, and I can only hope that stocking my library with magazines, comics and manga, will lead a good amount of them to a Zadie Smith novel, or a play by Arthur Miller.”

If you’re hoping to spark a love of reading in your teen, here’s what might help:

• Buy books related to a favourite film, TV series, or which matches their interests or hobbies.
• Let them choose what they read.
• Be a reading role model – make sure they see you reading for enjoyment, too.
• Set screen-free time before bed and encourage activities such as reading, colouring or journalling to wind down.
• Help them find their own spaces to talk about books, suggests Scottish Book Trust – try Goodreads or #BookTok on TikTok.
• Encourage different reading formats – e-books, comics and e-magazines still count!
• Take them to library,school and book shop-hosted events focused on reading.
• Check out our picks of the books to gently steer teens towards reading once more.

Strength training is one of the best activities we can engage in as we age. It can help us live longer, may reduce our risk of dementia, and helps to decrease our risk of falls.

Meanwhile aerobic training, like jogging, walking, and swimming, is also linked to better heart health in older age and might benefit our brains too.

Some research has found that a combination of exercise, rather than sticking to one type of training, is linked to better longevity outcomes.

And according to the National Institute on Ageing, we need to add an underrated exercise to our routines, too. “Research has shown that it’s important to get all three types: aerobic, muscle-strengthening, and balance,” researchers write.

Balance training, which the NHS says can improve your “health and mobility”, should be done at least twice a week. It involves movements which improve your stabilising muscles.

• Calf raises,
• Knee raises,
• Standing with your eyes closed,
• Tai chi,
• Yoga,
• Walking backwards or sideways,
• Using a wobble board,
• Dancing,
• Single-leg training,
• Standing from a seated position.

There are benefits no matter what stage of life you’re in: yoga, for instance, seems to be unusually good at helping us sleep; while, in general, balance training leads to better joint stability and coordination.

But calling the training type “neglected”, the University of Strathclyde said it can benefit older adults in particular, whose balance “can deteriorate” over time.

Balance training can help to reduce the risk of falls and related fractures, which are most common among those over 65.

That’s partly because balance training helps to improve something called proprioception, which is one of our senses and helps us to know where our bodies are in space and how they’re moving.