The Duffer Brothers
Matt Duffer and Ross Duffer were born on the 15th of February 1984 in Durham, North Carolina. They began making films in the third grade using a Hi8 video camera gifted by their parents. The brothers wrote a script titled Origin which eventually gained them an agent. Their post-apocalyptic horror film Hidden was acquired by Warner Bros. Pictures in 2011. They directed Hidden and it was released in 2015. Following this project they were hired as writers and producers for the Fox television series Wayward Pines. As of 2024 they served as executive producers for a Netflix show called The Boroughs described as a supernatural drama set in a retirement community in the New Mexico desert.
The duo pitched their idea for Stranger Things to Dan Cohen who brought it to Shawn Levy. Backed by Levy's 21 Laps production company the show was quickly picked up by Netflix. It was released on the 15th of July 2016 to overwhelming praise. The show is set in 1980s Indiana and serves as an homage to 1980s pop culture. Its aesthetic draws inspiration from works by Steven Spielberg John Carpenter Wes Craven Sam Raimi David Lynch Stephen King and George Lucas. A cult following developed online shortly after its release. On the 30th of September 2019 Netflix announced it had signed the Duffers for additional films and television shows over the coming years.
Following the premiere of the fourth season of Stranger Things in July 2022 the Duffers launched Upside Down Pictures. They recommitted to Netflix with several new projects including a live-action series adaptation of Death Note. They also planned a series adaptation of The Talisman and the Stranger Things spin-off series Tales from '85. In August 2025 it was announced that the brothers and their company would be signing a four-year deal at Paramount. This results in the duo's departure from their long-time partnership at Netflix in April 2026. Their deal at Paramount offers an opportunity to produce and direct theatrical feature films for the studio.
In March 2021 the duo announced they will team up with Spielberg to adapt Stephen King's and Peter Straub's The Talisman as a Netflix series. Curtis Gwinn who worked as a writer-executive producer on Stranger Things acts as writer and showrunner of the project. They are executive producers via Amblin Partners and Monkey Massacre. Other planned adaptations include a live-action series adaptation of Death Note and the Stranger Things spin-off series Tales from '85. As of 2024 they were also the executive producers of a Netflix show called The Boroughs described as a supernatural drama set in a retirement community in the New Mexico desert.
The Duffer Brothers attended Duke School for Children from grades K through 8 before going to Charles E. Jordan High School. They were accepted at Florida State University College of Motion Picture Arts but refused to be educated separately. Someone introduced them to Chapman University's Dodge College of Film and Media Arts where they relocated to Orange California. They graduated in 2007. Matt has two children with his fiancée Sarah Hindsgaul while Winona Ryder serves as godmother. Ross married Fear Street trilogy filmmaker Leigh Janiak in December 2015 after meeting her in 2006 at a production company in Los Angeles. In February 2024 Janiak filed for divorce after eight years of marriage.
Stranger Things received an American Film Institute Award for Top 10 TV Programs of the Year in 2016. The show won Critics' Choice Television Awards for Best Drama Series and Most Bingeworthy Show. It earned Bram Stoker Awards for Screenplay in both 2016 and 2017. The series also secured British Academy Television Awards for Best International Programme and Directors Guild of America Awards for Outstanding Directing. Multiple Primetime Emmy Awards followed including Outstanding Drama Series and Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series. A Grammy Award for Best Compilation Soundtrack for Visual Media was awarded in 2019. The show continued to win Saturn Awards Teen Choice Awards and Writers Guild of America Awards through 2020.
Up Next
Continue Browsing
Common questions
When were the Duffer Brothers born and where did they grow up?
Matt Duffer and Ross Duffer were born on the 15th of February 1984 in Durham, North Carolina. They attended Duke School for Children from grades K through 8 before going to Charles E. Jordan High School.
What year was the Netflix show Stranger Things released by the Duffer Brothers?
Stranger Things was released on the 15th of July 2016 to overwhelming praise. The show is set in 1980s Indiana and serves as an homage to 1980s pop culture.
Which company will the Duffer Brothers sign a deal with starting in April 2026?
In August 2025 it was announced that the brothers and their company would be signing a four-year deal at Paramount. This results in the duo's departure from their long-time partnership at Netflix in April 2026.
Who directed the film Hidden produced by the Duffer Brothers?
The Duffer Brothers wrote and directed the post-apocalyptic horror film Hidden which was acquired by Warner Bros. Pictures in 2011. It was released in 2015 following the acquisition.
When did Ross Duffer divorce his wife Leigh Janiak after eight years of marriage?
Leigh Janiak filed for divorce in February 2024 after eight years of marriage. They had married in December 2015 after meeting her in 2006 at a production company in Los Angeles.