Stranger Things
In early 2015, Dan Cohen brought a script to his colleague Shawn Levy at 21 Laps Entertainment. The Duffer Brothers had prepared a pitch book and a pilot script that would eventually become Stranger Things. They had pitched the story to about fifteen cable networks before finding success. Those networks felt a plot with children as leading characters would not work. Some asked the brothers to make it a children's series or drop the kids entirely. Netflix purchased the whole season for an undisclosed sum in April of that same year. The company was ready to give upcoming producers like them a chance after their recognition for shows such as House of Cards. The series was originally known as Montauk, set near Long Island, New York. The brothers chose Montauk because it featured several real-world conspiracy theories involving secret government experiments. They also wanted Spielberg ties from the film Jaws, where Montauk served as Amity Island. Changing the narrative to Hawkins allowed them to place the town under quarantine without worrying about real locations. Ted Sarandos directed the title change to help marketing efforts. The brothers used a copy of Stephen King's Firestarter novel to consider font choices. They settled on Stranger Things because it sounded similar to Needful Things. Matt noted they still had heated arguments over this final title.
The fictional rural town of Hawkins, Indiana, sits at the center of the story. It is described as the town where nothing ever happens during the second season. A nearby secretive government research facility conducts experiments with human test subjects. These actions inadvertently create a portal to an alternate dimension called the Upside Down. This realm connects Earth to a hostile world known as the Abyss. On the 6th of November 1983, Will Byers vanishes after being abducted by a creature dubbed the Demogorgon. His mother Joyce and police chief Jim Hopper search for him alongside volunteers. Eleven escapes from the lab and befriends Mike Wheeler, Dustin Henderson, and Lucas Sinclair. She assists them in finding Will while Nancy and Jonathan learn about the threat. In the second season, Will remains affected by a shadowy entity from the Upside Down. Anything connected to that dimension becomes part of a hive mind known as the Mind Flayer. Max Mayfield earns the affection of Lucas while Steve Harrington teams up with Dustin to fend off adolescent Demogorgons. Eleven reappears to close the gate underneath the laboratory. By the fourth season, Vecna opens gates between Hawkins and the Upside Down using murdered teenagers. He frames Eddie Munson for the crimes before targeting Max as his fourth victim. The group eventually rescues captured children and kills Vecna and the Mind Flayer. They destroy the Upside Down to prevent further harm.
Winona Ryder joined the series in June 2015 as Joyce Byers. Her sole condition was that she could take a break if a sequel to Beetlejuice materialized. David Harbour became Chief Hopper after being cast following Ryder's agreement. Finn Wolfhard played Mike Wheeler while Millie Bobby Brown took an undisclosed role initially. Gaten Matarazzo portrayed Dustin Henderson and Caleb McLaughlin played Lucas Sinclair. Natalia Dyer appeared as Nancy Wheeler and Charlie Heaton as Jonathan Byers. Cara Buono joined as Karen Wheeler in September 2015. Matthew Modine entered the cast as Martin Brenner one month later. Noah Schnapp played Will Byers from seasons two through five. Shannon Purser portrayed Barbara Holland in the first season only. Joe Keery appeared as Steve Harrington starting in season two. Sadie Sink joined as Max Mayfield in season two. Dacre Montgomery played Billy Hargrove until season three ended. Sean Astin appeared as Bob Newby during the second season. Paul Reiser returned as Dr. Sam Owens in multiple seasons. Maya Hawke worked alongside Steve at the mall ice cream shop before dating her classmate Vickie. Priah Ferguson helped the group as Erica Sinclair. Brett Gelman assisted Nancy and Jonathan as Murray Bauman. Linda Hamilton led the military unit dispatched to Hawkins in season five. Jamie Campbell Bower portrayed Henry Creel, also known as Vecna.
Filming for the first season began in November 2015 around Atlanta, Georgia. The production used Emory University's former Georgia Mental Health Institute as the Hawkins National Laboratory site. Jackson served as the basis for the fictional town of Hawkins. Other locations included Bellwood Quarry and Patrick Henry High School in Stockbridge. Set work was done at Screen Gem Studios in Atlanta using a RED Epic Dragon camera. To create an aged effect, film grain was added over footage captured by scanning stock from the 1980s. The brothers avoided computer-generated effects for monsters whenever possible. They created an animatronic to play the Demogorgon but used digital effects when time ran short. Post-production on the first season finished the week before its release. The title sequence uses close-ups of letters sliding into place against a black background with red tinting. Imaginary Forces created the sequence under creative director Michelle Doughtey. They took inspiration from Richard Greenberg's work on Altered States and The Dead Zone. Dan Perri provided input on several 1980s films. The final sequence is fully computer-generated but tested practical filters like Kodalith masks. Michael Stein and Kyle Dixon composed the original soundtrack using synthesizers. Their band Survive had been fans of the Duffer Brothers since 2014. Licensed songs include Joy Division, Toto, New Order, and Kate Bush. Some tracks saw resurgence on sales charts after airing.
Within thirty-five days of release, Stranger Things averaged ratings of around fourteen million adults between ages eighteen and forty-nine in the United States. It became the third most-watched Netflix original content at that time behind Fuller House and Orange Is the New Black. By September 2016, Netflix found the show hooked viewers by the second episode. For the third season, forty point seven million households watched within four days. Sixty-four million households viewed it within one month, setting a new record for the platform. Rotten Tomatoes gave the series an overall score of ninety percent while Metacritic awarded seventy-four points. Critics praised its characterization, atmosphere, acting, direction, writing, and homage to 1980s cinema. The Guardian ranked it as the third-best television show of 2016 alongside Empire magazine. BBC Culture placed it at number sixty-eight among the hundred greatest television series of the twenty-first century. Demand for Eggo waffles increased significantly due to Eleven's favorite food status. Kellogg Company provided vintage advertisements for Super Bowl LI commercials. Coca-Cola released limited runs of New Coke to coincide with the third season set in 1985. Hashtags like ImWithBarb grew popular after the first season aired. Fans created forums supporting Barbara Holland despite her early death. The Duffers used real-life fan movements to inspire storylines starting in season two.
In March 1986, multiple teenagers were murdered by Vecna, Hawkins Laboratory's first test subject. He framed Dustin's friend Eddie Munson for the crimes before targeting Max as his fourth victim. Vecna plans to use children to merge the Abyss with Hawkins during the fifth season. The military puts Hawkins under quarantine while hunting for Eleven. They track down Vecna until he kidnaps Nancy and Mike's younger sister Holly along with eleven other children. Joyce and Murray Bauman learn that Hopper survived but was captured by Soviets. They rescue him from a gulag on the Kamchatka Peninsula. Eleven regains her powers to fight back against Vecna's forces. Vecna's army kills Eddie and causes Max to fall into a coma. Rifts open throughout Hawkins as the Upside Down bleeds into reality. The group ultimately rescues the captured children and kills both Vecna and the Mind Flayer. They destroy the Upside Down to prevent new psychic test subjects from being created. Eleven stays behind in the collapsing dimension to protect others. Eighteen months later, Mike, Will, Dustin, Lucas, and Max graduate from high school. Hopper proposes to Joyce while Mike theorizes about how Eleven could have faked her death.
In April 2018, filmmaker Charlie Kessler filed a lawsuit claiming the Duffer Brothers stole ideas from his short film Montauk. He debuted it at the 2012 Hamptons International Film Festival. During the Tribeca Film Festival in April 2014, he pitched his film to the brothers. Kessler gave them scripts, ideas, story, and film for a larger project called The Montauk Project. He sought one-third of the income made from the series. The judge denied summary judgment for the Duffer Brothers in April 2019. Just before trial started in May 2019, Kessler withdrew after seeing documents showing independent concept development as early as 2010. Journalists noted that supernatural events around Montauk originated from urban legends in the 1992 book The Montauk Project: Experiments in Time. In September 2017, Netflix sent a cease-and-desist letter to a Stranger Things-themed bar in Chicago. The letter included humorous references like living in the Upside Down or going full Dr. Brenner on you. In July 2022, six Jewish and Roma groups condemned using Lukiškės Prison as a filming location. Protesters pointed out the prison's involvement in the Holocaust and Ponary massacre. They denounced renting out a refurbished cell on Airbnb. A petition calling on Netflix to close the rental garnered over sixty thousand signatures. Go Vilnius shut down the listing indefinitely.
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Common questions
When was Stranger Things originally pitched to cable networks before Netflix purchased it?
The Duffer Brothers pitched the story to about fifteen cable networks in early 2015. Netflix purchased the whole season for an undisclosed sum in April of that same year.
What is the fictional setting and original title of Stranger Things?
Stranger Things is set in the fictional rural town of Hawkins, Indiana. The series was originally known as Montauk and set near Long Island, New York before the narrative changed.
Who plays Eleven and when did filming begin for the first season?
Millie Bobby Brown took an initially undisclosed role as Eleven while filming began in November 2015 around Atlanta, Georgia. Production used Emory University's former Georgia Mental Health Institute as the Hawkins National Laboratory site.
How many households watched Stranger Things within four days of its third season release?
Forty point seven million households watched the third season within four days. Sixty-four million households viewed it within one month, setting a new record for the platform.
Why did Charlie Kessler file a lawsuit against the Duffer Brothers regarding Montauk?
Charlie Kessler filed a lawsuit in April 2018 claiming the brothers stole ideas from his short film Montauk which he debuted at the 2012 Hamptons International Film Festival. He sought one-third of the income made from the series after pitching his project to them in April 2014.