Stranger Things

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For other uses, see Stranger Things (disambiguation).

Stranger Things

Science fiction
Genre
Horror

Period drama

Created by The Duffer Brothers

Starring Winona Ryder

David Harbour

Finn Wolfhard

Millie Bobby Brown

Gaten Matarazzo

Caleb McLaughlin

Natalia Dyer

Charlie Heaton

Cara Buono

Matthew Modine

Noah Schnapp

Sadie Sink

Joe Keery

Dacre Montgomery

Sean Astin

Paul Reiser
 Maya Hawke

Priah Ferguson

Composer(s) Michael Stein

Kyle Dixon

Country of origin United States

Original language(s) English

No. of seasons 3

No. of episodes 25 (list of episodes)

Production

Executive producer(s) The Duffer Brothers

Shawn Levy

Dan Cohen

Cindy Holland

Brian Wright

Matt Thunell

Karl Gajdusek

Iain Paterson

Cinematography Tim Ives

Tod Campbell
Lachlan Milne

David Franco

Editor(s) Dean Zimmerman

Kevin D. Ross

Nat Fuller

Katheryn Naranjo

Running time 42–77 minutes

Production company(s) 21 Laps Entertainment

Monkey Massacre

Distributor Netflix
 Release

Original network Netflix

Picture format 4K (Ultra HD)

High dynamic range

Audio format Dolby Digital 5.1

Original release July 15, 2016 –

present

External links

Website

Stranger Things is an American science fiction horror web television series created by the Duffer

Brothers and released on Netflix. The siblings also serve as executive producers with Shawn
Levy and Dan Cohen. The first season stars Winona Ryder, David Harbour, Finn Wolfhard, Millie
Bobby Brown, Gaten Matarazzo, Caleb McLaughlin, Natalia Dyer, Charlie Heaton, Cara Buono,
and Matthew Modine, with Noah Schnapp and Joe Keery in recurring roles. For the second season,
Schnapp and Keery were made series regulars, as were newly cast Sadie Sink, Dacre
Montgomery, Sean Astin, and Paul Reiser, with Priah Ferguson appearing in a recurring role. Maya
Hawke joined the cast for the third season, while Ferguson was promoted to a series regular.
Set in the fictional town of Hawkins, Indiana, in November 1983, the first season focuses on the
investigation into the disappearance of a young boy amid supernatural events occurring around the
town, including the appearance of a girl with psychokinetic abilities who helps the missing boy's
friends in their search. The second season, titled Stranger Things 2, is set one year later in October
1984 and deals with the characters' attempts to return to normality and the aftermath of the events
from the first season. The third season, titled Stranger Things 3, is set in July 1985.
The Duffer Brothers developed the series as a mix of investigative drama alongside supernatural
elements portrayed with childlike sensibilities. They set the series in the 1980s and created an
homage to the pop culture of that decade. Several themes and directorial aspects were inspired and
aesthetically informed by the works of Steven Spielberg, John Carpenter, and Stephen King, among
others, including several films, anime, and video games.
The first season of eight episodes premiered on Netflix on July 15, 2016. It received critical acclaim
for its characterization, pacing, atmosphere, acting, soundtrack, directing, writing, and homages
to 1980s films. The second season consisting of nine episodes was released on October 27, 2017. A
third season consisting of eight episodes was released on July 4, 2019. The Duffer Brothers have
said that Stranger Things is likely to end after its fourth or fifth season. The series has received
31 Primetime Emmy Award nominations, including for Outstanding Drama Series, and four Golden
Globe Award nominations, and it won the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance
by an Ensemble in a Drama Series in 2016.
 Contents

 1Premise
 2Cast and characters
 3Episodes
o 3.1Season 1 (2016)
o 3.2Season 2 (2017)
o 3.3Season 3 (2019)
 4Production
o 4.1Development
o 4.2Writing
o 4.3Casting
o 4.4Filming
o 4.5Visual effects
o 4.6Music
 5Release
o 5.1Home media
 6Reception
o 6.1Audience viewership
o 6.2Critical response
o 6.3Commentary
o 6.4Legal matters
o 6.5Awards and nominations
 7Other media
o 7.1Beyond Stranger Things
o 7.2Tie-in books
o 7.3Dungeons & Dragons game
o 7.4Video games
o 7.5Others
 8References
 9External links

Premise
Stranger Things is set in the fictional rural town of Hawkins, Indiana, during the early 1980s. The
nearby Hawkins National Laboratory ostensibly performs scientific research for the United States
Department of Energy, but secretly does experiments into the paranormal and supernatural,
including those that involve human test subjects. Inadvertently, they have created a portal to
an alternate dimension, "the Upside Down". The influence of the Upside Down starts to affect the
unknowing residents of Hawkins in calamitous ways.[1][2]
The first season begins in November 1983, when Will Byers is abducted by a creature from the
Upside Down. His mother, Joyce, and the town's police chief, Jim Hopper, search for Will. At the
same time, a young psychokinetic girl called Eleven escapes from the laboratory and assists Will's
friends, Mike, Dustin, and Lucas, in their own efforts to find Will. [3]
The second season is set a year later, starting in October 1984. Will has been rescued, but few
know of the details of the events. When it is discovered that Will is still being influenced by entities
from the Upside Down, his friends and family learn there is a larger threat to their universe from the
Upside Down.[4]
The third season is set several months later, in the days leading up to the Fourth of July
celebration in 1985. The new Starcourt Mall has become the center of attention for Hawkins'
residents, putting most other stores out of business. Hopper becomes increasingly concerned about
Eleven and Mike's relationship while still trying to care for Joyce. Unbeknownst to the town, a secret
Russian laboratory under Starcourt seeks to open the gateway to the Upside Down, allowing the
entities from the Upside Down to possess people in Hawkins and creating a new horror to deal with.
[5][6]

Cast and characters

Main article: List of Stranger Things characters

The Duffer Brothers, Shawn Levy and the main cast of season 2 of Stranger Things at the 2017 San Diego
Comic-Con International

 Winona Ryder as Joyce Byers,[7] the mother of Will and Jonathan Byers. She is divorced from
Lonnie Byers. In season two, she is dating her old high school classmate, Bob, until his death
later in the season. She and Hopper are suggested to have feelings for each other.
 David Harbour as Jim Hopper,[7] chief of Hawkins Police Department. After his young
daughter died of cancer, Hopper divorced and lapsed into alcoholism. Eventually he grows to be
more responsible, saving Joyce's son as well as taking Eleven as his adopted daughter. It is
revealed that he and Joyce have feelings for each other.
 Finn Wolfhard as Mike Wheeler,[8] son of Karen and Ted Wheeler, younger brother of Nancy,
and one of three friends of Will Byers. He is an intelligent and conscientious student and is
committed to his friends. He develops romantic feelings for Eleven.
 Millie Bobby Brown[8] as Eleven / Jane Hopper ("El"), a young girl with psychokinetic abilities
and a limited vocabulary. Her real name is Jane, and she is the biological daughter of Terry Ives.
After escaping from Hawkins Laboratory, where experiments were being performed on her, she
befriends Mike, Dustin, and Lucas. She develops romantic feelings for Mike. At the end of the
second season, Hopper adopts Eleven. In the third season they grow closer and she becomes
more like a fully fledged daughter to him.
 Gaten Matarazzo as Dustin Henderson,[8] one of Will's friends. His cleidocranial
dysplasia causes him to lisp. In the second season, he is proud of his new front teeth and is
attracted to Max. In season 3, he gets a girlfriend, Suzie (portrayed by Gabriella Pizzolo), who
he met at Camp Know Where and they share their only scene together in the last episode of
season 3.
 Caleb McLaughlin as Lucas Sinclair,[8] one of Will's friends. He is wary of Eleven but later
befriends her. In season two, he is one of Max's love interests and eventually becomes her
boyfriend in season three.
 Natalia Dyer as Nancy Wheeler,[8] daughter of Karen and Ted and older sister of Mike.
Studious and rule-abiding, Nancy finds another side of herself while investigating the Hawkins
Lab and the death of her friend Barbara. In seasons 1–2, she is the girlfriend of Steve
Harrington, but breaks up with him and instead dates Jonathan Byers.
 Charlie Heaton as Jonathan Byers,[8] the older brother of Will Byers and the son of Joyce
Byers. He is a quiet teenager, an outsider at school, and an aspiring photographer. He is close
with his mother and brother, and he becomes the boyfriend of Nancy Wheeler.
 Cara Buono as Karen Wheeler,[9] mother of teenaged Nancy, middle schooler Mike, and
toddler Holly.
 Matthew Modine as Martin Brenner (season 1; recurring season 2),[10] the scientist in charge
of Hawkins Laboratory. Manipulative and remote, he and his team are searching for Eleven. [11]
 Noah Schnapp as Will Byers (seasons 2–present; recurring season 1),[8] the son of Joyce
Byers and younger brother of Jonathan Byers. He is captured by a monster from the "Upside
Down", an alternate dimension discovered by Hawkins Laboratory scientists. [12][13]
 Sadie Sink as Maxine "Max" Mayfield (seasons 2–present), Billy's younger stepsister, and a
tomboy who catches the attention of both Lucas and Dustin, eventually choosing Lucas. [13]
 Joe Keery as Steve Harrington (seasons 2–present; recurring season 1), a popular high
school student and the boyfriend of Nancy Wheeler. He ostracizes Jonathan Byers, but later
comes to befriend him. He and Nancy later break up in season two.[14][13]
 Dacre Montgomery as Billy Hargrove (seasons 2–3), Max's violent, unpredictable, and
abusive older stepbrother. He challenges Steve's popularity. [13]
 Sean Astin as Bob Newby (season 2; guest season 3), a former schoolmate of Joyce and
Hopper who runs the Hawkins RadioShack[15] and is Joyce's boyfriend, putting him at odds with
Hopper.[16]
 Paul Reiser as Sam Owens (season 2; guest season 3), a Department of Energy executive
who replaces Brenner as director of Hawkins Laboratory. He is stubborn and committed to
scientific research, yet empathetic to the residents of Hawkins.[15]
 Maya Hawke as Robin Buckley (season 3–present), an "alternative" girl that works alongside
Steve at the ice cream store in the mall. [17]
 Priah Ferguson as Erica Sinclair (season 3–present; recurring season 2), Lucas's 10-year-
old sister.[17]

Episodes

Season Episodes Originally released

1 8 July 15, 2016

2 9 October 27, 2017

3 8 July 4, 2019

Season 1 (2016)
Main article: Stranger Things (season 1)
 No. No. in
Title Directed by
overall season

1 1 "Chapter One: The Vanishing of Will Byers" The Duffer Brothers

2 2 "Chapter Two: The Weirdo on Maple Street" The Duffer Brothers

3 3 "Chapter Three: Holly, Jolly" Shawn Levy

4 4 "Chapter Four: The Body" Shawn Levy

5 5 "Chapter Five: The Flea and the Acrobat" The Duffer Brothers

6 6 "Chapter Six: The Monster" The Duffer Brothers

7 7 "Chapter Seven: The Bathtub" The Duffer Brothers

8 8 "Chapter Eight: The Upside Down" The Duffer Brothers

Te

Season 2 (2017)
Main article: Stranger Things (season 2)

No. No. in
Title Directed by
overall season

9 1 "Chapter One: MADMAX" The Duffer Brothers

10 2 "Chapter Two: Trick or Treat, Freak" The Duffer Brothers

11 3 "Chapter Three: The Pollywog" Shawn Levy

 12 4 "Chapter Four: Will the Wise" Shawn Levy

13 5 "Chapter Five: Dig Dug" Andrew Stanton

14 6 "Chapter Six: The Spy" Andrew Stanton

15 7 "Chapter Seven: The Lost Sister" Rebecca Thomas

16 8 "Chapter Eight: The Mind Flayer" The Duffer Brothers

17 9 "Chapter Nine: The Gate" The Duffer Brothers

Season 3 (2019)
Main article: Stranger Things (season 3)

No. No. in
Title Directed by
overall season

18 1 "Chapter One: Suzie, Do You Copy?" The Duffer Brothers

19 2 "Chapter Two: The Mall Rats" The Duffer Brothers

20 3 "Chapter Three: The Case of the Missing Lifeguard" Shawn Levy

21 4 "Chapter Four: The Sauna Test" Shawn Levy

22 5 "Chapter Five: The Flayed" Uta Briesewitz

23 6 "Chapter Six: E Pluribus Unum" Uta Briesewitz

24 7 "Chapter Seven: The Bite" The Duffer Brothers

 25 8 "Chapter Eight: The Battle of Starcourt" The Duffer Brothers

Production
Development

Ross (left) and Matt Duffer, the creators of the series

Stranger Things was created by Matt and Ross Duffer, known professionally as the Duffer Brothers.
[18]
 The two had completed writing and producing their 2015 film Hidden, which they had tried to
emulate the style of M. Night Shyamalan. However, due to changes at Warner Bros., its distributor,
the film did not see a wide release and the Duffer Brothers were unsure of their future. [19] To their
surprise, television producer Donald De Line approached them, impressed with Hidden's script, and
offered them the opportunity to work on episodes of Wayward Pines alongside Shyamalan. The
brothers were mentored by Shyamalan during the episode's production, so that when they finished,
they felt they were ready to produce their own television series. [20]
The Duffer Brothers prepared a script that would essentially be similar to the series' actual pilot
episode, along with a 20-page pitch book to help shop the series around for a network. [21] They
pitched the story to about fifteen[22] cable networks, all of which rejected the script on the basis that
they felt a plot centered around children as leading characters would not work, asking them to make
it a children's series or to drop the children and focus on Hopper's investigation in the paranormal.
[20]
 In early 2015, Dan Cohen, the VP of 21 Laps Entertainment, brought the script to his
colleague Shawn Levy. They subsequently invited the Duffer Brothers to their office and purchased
the rights for the series, giving full authorship of it to the brothers. After reading the pilot, the
streaming service Netflix purchased the whole season for an undisclosed amount; [23] the series was
subsequently announced for a planned 2016 release by Netflix in early April 2015. [24] The Duffer
Brothers stated that at the time they had pitched to Netflix, the service had already gotten
recognized for its original programming, such as House of Cards and Orange Is the New Black, with
well-recognized producers behind them, and were ready to start giving upcoming producers like
them a chance.[21] The brothers started to write out the series and brought Levy and Cohen in as
executive producers to start casting and filming. [25]
Montauk is an eight-hour sci-fi horror epic. Set in Long Island in 1980 and inspired by the supernatural classics of that
era, we explore the crossroads where the ordinary meet the extraordinary...emotional, cinematic and rooted in
character, Montauk is a love letter to the golden age of Steven Spielberg and Stephen King – a marriage of human
drama and supernatural fear.

 — The Duffer Brothers' original pitch for Montauk[26]

The book cover the Duffer Brothers created to pitch Montauk. For this, they took inspiration from Stephen
King book covers such as Firestarter.

The series was originally known as Montauk. The setting was then Montauk, New York and
nearby Long Island locations. Montauk figured into a number of real world conspiracy
theories involving secret government experiments.[24][27] The brothers had chosen Montauk as it had
further Spielberg ties with the film Jaws, where Montauk was used for the fictional setting of Amity
Island.[28] After deciding to change the narrative of the series to take place in the fictional town of
Hawkins instead, the brothers felt they could now do things to the town, such as placing it under
quarantine, that they really could not envision with a real location. [28] With the change in location, they
had to come up with a new title for the series under direction from Netflix's Ted Sarandos so that
they could start marketing it to the public. The brothers started by using a copy of Stephen
King's Firestarter novel to consider the title's font and appearance, and came up with a long list of
potential alternatives. Stranger Things came about as it sounded similar to another King
novel, Needful Things, though Matt noted they still had a "lot of heated arguments" over this final
title.[29]
To pitch the series, the Duffer Brothers showcased images, footage and music from classic 1970s
and 1980s films such as E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, Close Encounters of the Third
Kind, Poltergeist, Hellraiser, Stand by Me, Firestarter, A Nightmare on Elm Street and Jaws, in order
to establish the tone of the series.[26]
Writing
The idea of Stranger Things started with how the brothers felt they could take the concept of the
2013 film Prisoners, detailing the moral struggles a father goes through when his daughter is
kidnapped, and expand it out over eight or so hours in a serialized television approach. As they
focused on the missing child aspect of the story, they wanted to introduce the idea of "childlike
sensibilities" they could offer, and toyed around with the idea of a monster that could consume
humans. The brothers thought the combination of these things "was the best thing ever". To
introduce this monster into the narrative, they considered "bizarre experiments we had read about
taking place in the Cold War" such as Project MKUltra, which gave a way to ground the monster's
existence in science rather than something spiritual. This also helped them to decide on using 1983
as the time period, as it was a year before the film Red Dawn came out, which focused on Cold War
paranoia.[20] Subsequently, they were able to use all their own personal inspirations from the 1980s,
the decade they were born, as elements of the series,[20][30] crafting it in the realm of science
fiction and horror.[31] Other influences cited by the Duffer Brothers include: Stephen King novels; films
produced by Steven Spielberg, John Carpenter, Wes Craven,[32][33][34] and Guillermo del Toro;[29] films
such as Star Wars, Alien, and Stand by Me;[29][33][35] Japanese anime such as Akira and Elfen Lied;[29]
[32]
 and several video games including Silent Hill, Dark Souls and The Last of Us.[36][37][32] The Duffer
Brothers also believe that they may have brought influences from other works unintentionally,
including Beyond the Black Rainbow and D.A.R.Y.L., discovered by reviewing fan feedback on the
series.[28] Several websites and publications have found other pop culture references in the series,
particularly references to 1980s pop culture. [38][39][40][41]
With Netflix as the platform, the Duffer Brothers were not limited to a typical 22-episode format,
opting for the eight-episode approach. They had been concerned that a 22-episode season on
broadcast television would be difficult to "tell a cinematic story" with that many episodes. Eight
episodes allowed them to give time to characterization in addition to narrative development; if they
had less time available, they would have had to remain committed to telling a horror film as soon as
the monster was introduced and abandon the characterization. [21] Within the eight episodes, the
brothers aimed to make the first season "feel like a big movie" with all the major plot lines completed
so that "the audience feels satisfied", but left enough unresolved to indicate "there's a bigger
mythology, and there's a lot of dangling threads at the end", something that could be explored in
further seasons if Netflix opted to create more.[42]
Regarding writing for the children characters of the series, the Duffer Brothers considered
themselves as outcasts from other students while in high school and thus found it easy to write for
Mike and his friends, and particularly for Barb.[29] Joyce was fashioned after Richard Dreyfuss'
character Roy Neary in Close Encounters of the Third Kind, as she appears "absolutely bonkers" to
everyone else as she tries to find Will.[43]
Casting

The Duffer Brothers cast David Harbour as Chief Hopper believing this was his opportunity to portray a lead
character.
In June 2015, it was announced that Winona Ryder and David Harbour had joined the series as
Joyce and as the unnamed chief of police, respectively. [7] The brothers' casting director Carmen
Cuba had suggested Ryder for the role of Joyce, which the two were immediately drawn to because
of her predominance in the films of the 1980s.[20] Levy believed Ryder could "wretch up the emotional
urgency and yet find layers and nuance and different sides of [Joyce]". Ryder praised that the show's
multiple storylines required her to act for Joyce as "she's out of her mind, but she's actually kind of
onto something", and that the producers had faith she could pull off the difficult role. [44] The Duffer
Brothers had been interested in Harbour before, who until Stranger Things primarily had smaller
roles as villainous characters, and they felt that he had been "waiting too long for this opportunity" to
play a lead, while Harbour himself was thrilled by the script and the chance to play "a broken, flawed,
anti-hero character".[29][45]
Additional casting followed two months later with Finn Wolfhard as Mike, Millie Bobby Brown in an
undisclosed role, Gaten Matarazzo as Dustin, Caleb McLaughlin as Lucas, Natalia Dyer as Nancy,
and Charlie Heaton as Jonathan.[8] In September 2015, Cara Buono joined the cast as Karen,
[9]
 followed by Matthew Modine as Martin Brenner a month later.[10] Additional cast who recur
include Noah Schnapp as Will,[8][13] Shannon Purser as Barbara "Barb" Holland,[46] Joe Keery as Steve
Harrington,[14][13] and Ross Partridge as Lonnie,[47] among others.
Actors auditioning for the children roles read lines from Stand By Me.[20] The Duffer Brothers
estimated they went through about a thousand different child actors for the roles. They noted that
Wolfhard was already "a movie buff" of the films from the 1980s period and easily filled the role,
while they found Matarazzo's audition to be much more authentic than most of the other audition
tapes, and selected him after a single viewing of his audition tape. [21] As casting was started
immediately after Netflix greenlit the show, and prior to the scripts being fully completed, this allowed
some of the actor's takes on the roles to reflect into the script. The casting of the young actors for
Will and his friends had been done just after the first script was completed, and subsequent scripts
incorporated aspects from these actors.[42] The brothers said Modine provided significant input on the
character of Dr. Brenner, whom they had not really fleshed out before as they considered him the
hardest character to write for given his limited appearances within the narrative. [43]
Filming
Emory University's former Georgia Mental Health Institute served as the location of Hawkins National
Laboratory.

The brothers had desired to film the series around the Long Island area to match the initial Montauk
concept. However, with filming scheduled to take place in November 2015, it was difficult to shoot in
Long Island in the cold weather, and the production started scouting locations in and around
the Atlanta, Georgia area. The brothers, who grew up in North Carolina, found many places that
reminded them of their own childhoods in that area, and felt the area would work well with the
narrative shift to the fictional town of Hawkins, Indiana. [28]
The filming of the first season began in November 2015 and was extensively done in Atlanta,
Georgia, with the Duffer Brothers and Levy handling the direction of individual episodes.
[48]
 Jackson served as the basis of the fictional town of Hawkins, Indiana. [49][50] Other shooting locations
included the Georgia Mental Health Institute as the Hawkins National Laboratory site, Bellwood
Quarry, Patrick Henry High School in Stockbridge, Georgia, for the middle and high school scenes,
[51]
 Emory University's Continuing Education Department, the former city hall in Douglasville, Georgia,
the Georgia International Horse Park in Conyers, Georgia, the probate court in Butts County,
Georgia, Old East Point Library and East Point First Baptist Church in East Point,
Georgia, Fayetteville, Georgia, Stone Mountain Park, Palmetto, Georgia, and Winston, Georgia.
[52]
 Set work was done at Screen Gem Studios in Atlanta. [52] The series was filmed with a Red Dragon
digital camera.[43] Filming for the first season concluded in early 2016.[49]
Visual effects
To create the aged effect for the series, a film grain was added over the footage, which was
captured by scanning in film stock from the 1980s. [43] The Duffer Brothers wanted to scare the
audience, but not to necessarily make the series violent or gory, following in line with how the
1980s Amblin Entertainment films drove the creation of the PG-13 movie rating. It was "much more
about mood and atmosphere and suspense and dread than they are about gore", though they were
not afraid to push into more scary elements, particularly towards the end of the first season. [43] The
brothers had wanted to avoid any computer-generated effects for the monster and other parts of the
series and stay with practical effects, so they created an animatronic to play the part of the
demogorgon.[53][54] However, the six-month filming time left them little time to plan out and test
practical effects rigs for some of the shots. They went with a middle ground of using constructed
props including one for the monster whenever they could, but for other shots, such as when the
monster bursts through a wall, they opted to use digital effects. Post-production on the first season
was completed the week before it was released to Netflix. [20]
The title sequence uses closeups of the letters in the Stranger Things title with a red tint against a
black background as they slide into place within the title. The sequence was created by the studio
Imaginary Forces, formerly part of R/GA, led by creative director Michelle Doughtey.[55] Levy
introduced the studio to the Duffer Brothers, who explained their vision of the 1980s-inspired series,
which helped the studio to fix the concept the producers wanted. Later, but prior to filming, the
producers sent Imaginary Forces the pilot script, the synth-heavy background music for the titles, as
well as the various book covers from King and other authors that they had used to establish the title
and imagery, and were looking for a similar approach for the series' titles, primarily using a
typographical sequence. They took inspiration from several title sequences of works from the 1980s
that were previously designed by Richard Greenberg under R/GA, such as Altered States and The
Dead Zone. They also got input from Dan Perri, who worked on the title credits of several 1980s
films. Various iterations included having letters vanish, to reflect the "missing" theme of the series,
and having letters cast shadows on others, alluding to the mysteries, before settling into the sliding
letters. The studio began working on the title sequence before filming, and took about a month off
during the filming process to let the producers get immersed in the series and come back with more
input. Initially they had been working with various fonts for the title and used close-ups of the best
features of these fonts, but near the end the producers wanted to work with ITC Benguiat, requiring
them to rework those shots. The final sequence is fully computer generated, but they took inspiration
from testing some practical effects, such as using Kodalith masks as would have been done in the
1980s, to develop the appropriate filters for the rendering software. The individual episode title cards
used a "fly through" approach, similar to the film Bullitt, which the producers had suggested to the
studio.[56]
Music
Main article: Music of Stranger Things

The Stranger Things original soundtrack was composed by Michael Stein and Kyle Dixon of the
electronic band Survive.[57] It makes extensive use of synthesizers in homage to 1980s artists and
film composers including Jean-Michel Jarre, Tangerine Dream, Vangelis, Goblin, John
Carpenter, Giorgio Moroder, and Fabio Frizzi.[58]
According to Stein and Dixon, the Duffer Brothers had been fans of Survive's music, and used their
song "Dirge" for the mock trailer that was used to sell the series to Netflix. [57][59] The Duffer Brothers
discovered the band through the 2014 film The Guest, where Survive features on the soundtrack.
[60]
 Once the series was green-lit, the Duffer Brothers contacted Survive around July 2015 to ask if
they were still doing music; the two provided the production team with dozens of songs from their
band's past to gain their interest, helping to land them the role. [57] Once aboard, the two worked with
producers to select some of their older music to rework for the series, while developing new music,
principally with character motifs. [59] The two had been hired before the casting process, so their
motif demos were used and played over the actors' audition tapes, aiding in the casting selection. [59]
  The series' theme is based on an unused work Stein composed much earlier that ended up in the
[61]

library of work they shared with the production staff, who thought that with some reworking would be
good for the opening credits.[57]
In addition to original music, Stranger Things features period music from artists including The
Clash, Joy Division, Toto, New Order, The Bangles, Foreigner, Echo and the Bunnymen, Peter
Gabriel, and Corey Hart, as well as excerpts from Tangerine Dream, John Carpenter, and Vangelis.
[62][63]
 In particular, The Clash's "Should I Stay or Should I Go" was specifically picked to play at pivotal
moments of the story, such as when Will is trying to communicate with Joyce from the Upside Down.
[63]

Release
The first season consisted of eight one-hour-long episodes which were released worldwide on Netflix
on July 15, 2016,[64] in Ultra HD 4K. The second season, consisting of nine episodes, was released
on October 27, 2017 in HDR.[65][66] The third season once again consists of eight episodes, [67] and was
released on July 4, 2019.[68]
Home media
The first season of Stranger Things was released on a Blu-ray/DVD combo pack exclusively
to Target retailers on October 17, 2017, and the same for the 4K/Blu-ray combo pack on November
15, 2017, both of which includes vintage CBS-FOX VHS-inspired packaging.[69][70] The second season
received a similar release on November 6, 2018. [71][72]

Reception
Winona Ryder (left) was nominated for the Golden Globe, Satellite and Screen Actors Guild Award, while Millie
Bobby Brown (right) was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award and Screen Actors Guild Award for her
work in the series.

Audience viewership
Netflix did not initially reveal subscriber viewership numbers for their original series, and Symphony
Technology Group compiled data for the season based on people using software on their phones
that measures television viewing by detecting a program's sound. According to Symphony, within the
first 35 days of release, Stranger Things averaged ratings around 14.07 million adults between the
ages 18–49 in the United States. This made it the third most-watched season of Netflix original
content in the U.S. at the time behind the first season of Fuller House and fourth season of Orange
Is the New Black.[73] In a September 2016 analysis, Netflix found that Stranger Things "hooked"
viewers by the second episode of the first season, indicating that the second episode was "the first
installment that led at least 70 percent of viewers who watched that episode to complete the entire
first season of a show."[74]
For the third season, Netflix revealed that the show had broken viewing records for Netflix, with
40.7 million households having watched the show in its first four days, and 18.2 million already
watched the entire series within that timeframe.[75]
Critical response
Critical response
Season
Rotten Tomatoes Metacritic

1 97% (86 reviews) 76 (34 reviews)

2 94% (146 reviews) 78 (33 reviews)

3 90% (120 reviews) 72 (25 reviews)

Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes gave the first season an approval rating of 97% based on 86
reviews, and a weighted average rating of 8.1/10. The site's critical consensus states, "Exciting,
heartbreaking, and sometimes scary, Stranger Things acts as an addictive homage
to Spielberg films and vintage 1980s television."[76] The New York Times has compared the show to
Rob Reiner's Stand by Me, relating their nostalgic feel by "...finding that timeless moment where
everything seemed tantalizingly, scarily new."[77] Review aggregator Metacritic gave the first season
a normalized score of 76 out of 100 based on 34 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". [78]
On Rotten Tomatoes, the second season has an approval rating of 94% based on 146 reviews, and
an average rating of 7.86/10. The site's critical consensus states, "Stranger Things' slow-building
sophomore season balances moments of humor and a nostalgic sweetness against a growing horror
that's all the more effective thanks to the show's full-bodied characters and evocative tone." [79] On
Metacritic, the second season has a normalized score of 78 out of 100, based on 33 critics,
indicating "generally favorable reviews".[80]
On Rotten Tomatoes, the third season has an approval rating of 90% based on 120 reviews, and an
average rating of 7.92/10. The site's critical consensus states, "Vibrant and charming, Stranger
Things transforms itself into a riveting—if familiar—summer ride that basks in its neon-laden
nostalgia without losing sight of the rich relationships that make the series so endearing." [81] On
Metacritic, the third season has a normalized score of 72 out of 100, based on 25 critics, indicating
"generally favorable reviews".[82]
The show was ranked 3rd best TV show of the year (2016) by The Guardian and Empire.[83][84] It was
also included on The Atlantic's best TV show of 2017 list.[85]
Commentary

Shannon Purser's performance as Barb received a great deal of attention from fans and led to her being
nominated for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series.

Stranger Things gained a dedicated fan base soon after its release. One area of focus was the
character of Barb, Nancy's nerdy friend and classmate who is taken and killed by the monster early
in the season.[86] According to actress Shannon Purser, Barb "wasn't supposed to be a big deal", and
the Duffer Brothers had not gone into great detail about the character since the focus was on finding
Will. However, many fans sympathized with the character; Laura Bradley of Vanity Fair suggested
that Barb would be a similar misfit in society, and "looks more like someone you might actually meet
in real life" compared to the other characters, particularly Nancy. Hashtags grew in popularity after
the series' release, such as "#ImWithBarb" and "#JusticeforBarb", and several fan sites and forums
were created to support her.[87] Purser did not return for the second season, but the Duffer Brothers
used the real-life "Justice for Barb" movement as inspiration for narrative at the start of the second
season: Nancy addresses the fact "that no one ever cares about" Barb. [16] Purser and several media
outlets took her nomination as Barb for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series in the
Primetime Emmy Awards as achieving "Justice for Barb", highlighting how well her character was
received.[88][89][90]
Another impact of the series has been an increased demand for Eggo waffles, as they are shown to
be Eleven's favorite food in several episodes and are seen as a representation of the series.
[91]
 The Kellogg Company manufactures Eggo and had not been part of the production prior to the
first season's release, but they recognized the market impact of the series. They provided a vintage
1980s Eggo television advertisement for Netflix to use in its Super Bowl LI commercial, and they
intend to become more involved with cross-promotion. [92] Coca-Cola will have a limited run of New
Coke (introduced in 1985) to coincide with the third season of the show, which takes place in 1985. [93]
Legal matters
In April 2018, filmmaker Charlie Kessler filed a lawsuit against the Duffer brothers, claiming that they
stole his idea behind his short film Montauk, which featured a similar premise of a missing boy, a
nearby military base doing otherworldy experiments, and a monster from another dimension. Kessler
directed the film and debuted it at the 2012 Hamptons International Film Festival. During the
2014 Tribeca Film Festival, he pitched his film to the Duffer brothers and later gave them "the script,
ideas, story and film" for a larger film idea which he called The Montauk Project. Kessler contended
that the Duffer brothers used his ideas to devise the premise for Stranger Things and sought a third
of the income that they had made from the series.[94][95] The Duffer brothers' lawyer stated that they
never saw Kessler's film nor spoke to him regarding it, and that Kessler had no input into their
concepts for Stranger Things.[96] The judge denied summary judgment for the Duffer brothers in April
2019, allowing Kessler's suit to proceed to trial. [97] Just before the trial was due to start in May 2019,
Kessler withdrew his lawsuit after hearing the depositions and seeing documents from as early as
2010 which showed him that the Duffers had independently come up with the concept of Stranger
Things.[98]
Journalists have noted that the idea of supernatural events around Montauk had originated due to
urban legend of the Montauk Project, which came to light from the 1992 book The Montauk Project:
Experiments in Time.[99][100][101]
In September 2017, multiple media outlets published articles about a cease-and-desist letter sent by
a Netflix in-house attorney to the operator of a Stranger-Things-themed bar in Chicago.[102][103] The
letter included humorous references to the series: "unless I'm living in the Upside Down"; "we're not
going to go full Dr. Brenner on you"; "the demogorgon is not always as forgiving". The letter also won
praise from lawyers for its even-handedness in not demanding immediate closure of the bar, only
demanding that the bar not remain open without Netflix's permission past its initial scheduled run. [102]
Awards and nominations
Main article: List of awards and nominations received by Stranger Things

Stranger Things has received numerous awards and nominations across the entertainment industry,
including ten Primetime Emmy Award nominations and four Golden Globe Award nominations
through the second season. The series' cast has received several of these: the series' first-season
cast won the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama
Series, while series leads Ryder, Brown, and Harbour have earned individual awards and
nominations.

Other media
Beyond Stranger Things

Logo for the aftershow

With the release of the second season of the series, Netflix also released Beyond Stranger Things,
an aftershow hosted by Jim Rash. The guests of the aftershow are composed of cast and crew from
the series, including the Duffer Brothers and the series' stars, to discuss the development and
behind-the-scenes production of the series and its larger mythology. Unlike previous aftershows
created by Embassy Row, such as Talking Dead and Talking Bad, Beyond Stranger Things is
intended to be watched after a screening of the entire second season. [104]
No aftershow was created for the third season.[105]

No. Title Guests

 1 "Mind Blown" Shawn Levy, the Duffer Brothers, Finn Wolfhard, and Millie Bobby Brown

2 "Mad for Max" Shawn Levy, the Duffer Brothers, Caleb McLaughlin, Gaten Matarazzo, and Sadie Sink

3 "Unlikely Allies" Shawn Levy, the Duffer Brothers, Gaten Matarazzo, and Joe Keery

4 "Truth in Hawkins" Joe Keery, Natalia Dyer, Charlie Heaton, and Brett Gelman

5 "The AV Club" Caleb McLaughlin, Gaten Matarazzo, Noah Schnapp, Randy Havens, and Bill Nye

6 "The New Class" Sadie Sink, Brett Gelman, Dacre Montgomery, and Linnea Berthelsen

7 "Closing the Gate" Shawn Levy, the Duffer Brothers, Millie Bobby Brown, Noah Schnapp, and Natalia Dyer D

Tie-in books
Penguin Random House partnered with Netflix to release a series of books related to Stranger
Things, starting in late 2018. These include a companion book to the series, Stranger Things: World
Turned Upside Down: The Official Behind-The-Scenes Companion, a children's book that offers
"advice, wisdom, and warnings" from Stranger Things.[106] They have also published a two-in-
one Hawkins Middle School Yearbook/Hawkins High School Yearbook,[107] and How to Survive in a
Stranger Things World.[108] Visions from the Upside Down: Stranger Things Artbook is scheduled for
release on October 15, 2019[109] and Will Byers' Secret Files is scheduled for release on September
24, 2019.[110]
Novels
The novel Suspicious Minds by Gwenda Bond takes place before the first season and focuses on
Eleven's mother Terry Ives and her experiences with Dr. Brenner in the Hawkins laboratory in 1969.
[111]
 The novel was released on February 5, 2019, and was soon followed by Darkness on the Edge of
Town by New Zealand author Adam Christopher on May 28, 2019. In Edge, following the events of
the second season, Hopper relates details of his past life in New York City during the 1970s to
Eleven.[112] Runaway Max, a young adult novel by Brenna Yovanoff, was released on June 4, 2019,
and explored Max Mayfield's early life in San Diego prior to moving to Hawkins in 1984, as well as
offering a retelling of events from the second season from her perspective. [113]
Comics
Dark Horse Comics announced a partnership with Netflix for "a multi-year publishing line" of stories
set in the Stranger Things world. The initial title was a four-issue miniseries written by Jody Houser
and interior art by Stefano Martino. The story took place during the events of the first season and
took Will's perspective while he was still trapped in the Upside Down. [114] The first issue of the
miniseries was released on September 26, 2018.[115]
On May 4, 2019, Dark Horse Comics published a special Stranger Things comic as part of the
event Free Comic Book Day (FCBD). The Dark Horse FCBD 2019 General comic contained
a Stranger Things story entitled The Game Master set a few days after the events of the first season.
It was written by Jody Houser and illustrated by Ibrahim Moustafa. [116]
The second Stranger Things title is another four-part miniseries, written again by Jody Houser with
interior art by Edgar Salazar, titled Stranger Things: Six. The comic focuses on one of the
experiments preceding Eleven: a girl named Francine, who possesses powers of precognition. The
first issue went on sale on May 29, 2019.[117]
An original graphic novel based on the series called Stranger Things: Zombie Boys is scheduled to
be released on February 19, 2020. It will be written by Greg Pak, drawn by Valeria Favoccia, lettered
by Nate Piekos of Blambot, colored by Dan Jackson (comic book colorist), with cover art by Ron
Chan. It will be 72 pages and set after the first season. [118]

Release
Issue Story Art Colors Cover Collection
Date

Jody PENCILS: Stefano Lauren Aleksi Briclot Stranger Things: The

Houser Martino Affe Rafael Other Side
INKS: Keith Albuquerque RELEASE DATE: May 7,
September Champagne (variant) 2019
#1[119]
26, 2018 Kyle Lambert 9781506709765[120]
(variant)
Patrick Satterfield
(photo variant)

Aleksi Briclot
Steve Morris
October 31, (variant)
#2[121]
2018 Greg Ruth (variant)
Patrick Satterfield
(photo variant)

#3[122] November Aleksi Briclot

28, 2018 Grzegorz
Domaradzki
(variant)
Matthew Taylor
(variant)
Patrick Satterfield
(photo variant)
 Aleksi Briclot
Jen Bartel (variant)
January 2, Ethan Young
#4[123]
2019 (variant)
Patrick Satterfield
(photo variant)

SIX May 29,

#1[124] 2019

SIX June 26, Stranger Things

#2[126] 2019 PENCILS: Edgar Volume 2: SIX
Salazar Marissa RELEASE
Aleksi Briclot
INKS: Keith Louise DATE: November 26,
SIX Champagne 2019
July 31, 2019
#3[127] 9781506712321[125]

SIX August 28,

#4[128] 2019

Dungeons & Dragons game

Hasbro published a licensed version of a Stranger Things-themed Dungeons & Dragons starter kit in
May 2019. The kit, besides including instruction books, character sheets and dice, included a
campaign "The Hunt for the Thessalhydra" which the children played in the first season (written with
the intent of having come from the pen of the character of Will himself) as well as Demogorgon
minifigs.[129]
Video games
Mobile games
This section needs to be updated. Please update this article to reflect recent
events or newly available information. (August 2019)

Netflix and BonusXP developed a free mobile game tie-in for Stranger Things, released

to iOS and Android devices on October 4, 2017. The game uses a retro-pixel style of art, similar to
games for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. The game is loosely based on the Stranger
Things story after season one, with the player starting as Chief of Police Jim Hopper looking for the
missing boys. Once these characters are found, they become playable and have special abilities that
allow the player to access more areas in the game.[130][131] BonusXP had less than a year to complete
the game. The team decided to make the game in a similar style to The Legend of Zelda because it
"was a perfect match because both [Stranger Things and Zelda] are about exploration, and it's kind
of a mysterious fit that fit the mood of the show," according to BonusXP president Dave Pottinger.
The map of Hawkins in the game was based on a Google street view map of Jackson, Georgia
where the series is filmed. In order to help keep the game a secret, BonusXP did not hire game
testers for their quality assurance, instead having family members from the design team provide
feedback; this process helped create the two difficulty levels in the game. [132] Completing the game
gives players a clip from the first episode of the second season of the series. [133] The game was
downloaded 3 million times in the first week, becoming a top download and receiving critical praise.
With the release of season two, an update to the game added Max as a playable character, and a
release for the Amazon Fire TV, which included controller support.[132] The game was nominated for
"Mobile Game" at the 14th British Academy Games Awards.[134][135]
A second mobile game by BonusXP, Stranger Things 3: The Game, was announced during The
Game Awards 2018. It will be released as a tie-in for Stranger Things's third season, launching on
July 4, 2019.[136] This game will be an isometric action game, where players leads selected show
characters, including Joyce, Jim, Max, and Eleven, through various levels, with gameplay inspired by
several video games of the 1980s. The game will follow the narrative of the third season, as
BonusXP had some input with the Duffer brothers, and will provide additional story elements that the
show does not have time to explore. [137][138]
A third mobile game, simply called Stranger Things, is being developed by Next Games. It will
be location-based game with role-playing game mechanics.[138]
PlayStation VR game
Sony Interactive Entertainment has announced that it is working on a PlayStation 4-exclusive game,
based on Stranger Things, for their PlayStation VR peripheral. The company has since released a
teaser showing the Christmas-lights-on-a-wall scenes.[139]
Cancelled Telltale game
In June 2018, Netflix announced plans for Telltale Games to produce an episodic adventure
game based on the series, as part of a larger partnership that would see ports of other Telltale series
as interactive movies on Netflix. However, the project was cancelled after Telltale laid off the majority
of its staff in September 2018.[140][141][142][143][144] As planned, the game would have taken place in the
springtime of 1985, bridging the events of the second and third season. Telltale had also
commissioned a companion game from Night School Studio titled Kids Next Door that would be a
precursor to their title, but this also was canned on Telltale's closure. [145] Upon Telltale Games’ revival
by LSG Entertainment, several titles were reacquired, but the rights to Stranger Things had already
reverted to Netflix.
Others
Lego introduced a Stranger Things set called "The Upside Down", based on a version of the Byers'
home and its replica in the Upside Down, in May 2019. [146] Netflix partnered with Epic Games to
include some elements of Stranger Things in Fortnite Battle Royale in the weeks preceding the
show's third season launch.[138] Stranger Things DLC for the VR game Face Your Fears was also
released.[147][148][149]
United States Representative David Cicilline compared the state of the nation during the presidency
of Donald Trump to that of Stranger Things during a speech given in Congress on February 16,
2017, using a sign "Trump Things" in the same format as the title card of the series and saying "Like
the main characters in Stranger Things, we are now stuck in the Upside Down".[150] Within a
September 17, 2019 update for the asymmetric multiplayer horror game Dead by Daylight, the
Demogorgon was released as one of the killers, along with survivors based on Nancy and Steve. [151]
As part of its release on Netflix on April 14, 2017, the cast of the rebooted version of Mystery
Science Theater 3000 riffed on the first part of "Chapter 1" of Stranger Things.
[152]
 Google used augmented reality (AR) "stickers" of Stranger Things characters to introduce its
ARCore technology announced alongside its Pixel 2 phone in October 2017.[153] Sesame
Street created a young audience-appropriate spoof of Stranger Things, called Sharing Things,
released in November 2017; it featured Cookie Monster as the "Cookiegorgon", Grover as
Lucas, Ernie as Dustin, and included several nods to the narrative of the second season. [154] The
Simpsons episode "Treehouse of Horror XXX" to air on October 20, 2019, will include a segment
parodying Stranger Things.[155] The classic 1980s bicycles used in the series have been produced in
limited runs that sell out quickly.[156]