Stranger Things
Genre
Created byThe Duffer Brothers
Starring
Composers
  • Kyle Dixon
  • Michael Stein
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes8 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producers
Production locationJackson, Georgia[1]
Cinematography
  • Tim Ives
  • Tod Campbell
Running time42–55 minutes
Production companies
Original release
NetworkNetflix
ReleaseJuly 15, 2016 (2016-07-15) –
present

Stranger Things is an American science fiction-horror web television series created by the Duffer Brothers. It is written and directed by Matt and Ross Duffer and executive-produced by Shawn Levy. It stars Winona Ryder, David Harbour, Finn Wolfhard, Millie Bobby Brown, Gaten Matarazzo, Caleb McLaughlin, Natalia Dyer, Charlie Heaton, Cara Buono, and Matthew Modine. The plot follows the disappearance of a young boy, and a telekinetic girl who helps his friends in their search, while the boy's older brother, his mother, and the town police chief start their own investigations.[2][3]

The show is set in the 1980s in the fictional town of Hawkins, Indiana, and is an homage to 1980s pop culture,[4] inspired and aesthetically informed by the works of Steven Spielberg, John Carpenter, Stephen King, Robert Zemeckis, and George Lucas, among others.[5][6][7][8][9]

The show was released on Netflix on July 15, 2016. It received positive reviews for its characterization, pacing, atmosphere, acting, soundtrack, directing, writing, and homages to 1980s genre films. On August 31, 2016, Netflix renewed the series for a second season of nine episodes, to be released in 2017.[10][11]

Premise

On November 6, 1983, in the town of Hawkins,[12] Indiana, 12-year-old Will Byers vanishes mysteriously. Will's frantic mother, Joyce, searches for him while Police Chief Jim Hopper launches his own investigation. Will's friends Dustin, Mike, and Lucas discover a psychokinetic girl who claims to know Will's location. As they uncover the truth, a sinister government agency tries to cover it up, while a more insidious force lurks below the surface.

Cast

Main

Recurring

Episodes

Season 1 (2016)

No.
overall		No. in
season		TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal release date
11"Chapter One: The Vanishing of Will Byers"The Duffer BrothersThe Duffer BrothersJuly 15, 2016 (2016-07-15)
In 1983, in a US Department of Energy laboratory in the town of Hawkins, Indiana, a scientist is attacked by an unseen creature. 12-year-old Will Byers vanishes after encountering the creature while riding his bicycle home from a Dungeons & Dragons session with his friends. The next day, a young girl with a shaved head, wearing a hospital gown, steals food from a local diner. The owner, Benny, takes pity on her and feeds her before calling social services. A woman posing as a social worker arrives and shoots Benny. Armed men search the diner for the girl, but she escapes. Joyce, Will's mother, believes she hears Will's voice on a distorted phone call, but her phone short circuits. Will's friends Lucas, Mike, and Dustin find the girl in the woods as they search for Will.
22"Chapter Two: The Weirdo on Maple Street"The Duffer BrothersThe Duffer BrothersJuly 15, 2016 (2016-07-15)
The boys learn the girl's name is Eleven, which is tattooed on her arm; they nickname her "El". Scientists from the laboratory find a substance oozing from the walls of Joyce's home. At Mike's home, El recognizes Will in a photo. She uses psychokinesis to lock the door and prevent Dustin and Lucas from informing Mike's parents about her. Searching for Will, Hopper discovers a torn piece of El's hospital gown outside the laboratory grounds. Nancy goes with her friend Barb to a party at her boyfriend Steve's house. Will's brother, Jonathan, investigates his disappearance, photographing the woods where Will went missing. Hearing screaming, he runs and sees Steve, Nancy, and their friends at Steve's swimming pool, and he photographs them. Barb vanishes from the poolside. Joyce receives another call from Will, hears music from his room, and sees something coming through the wall.
33"Chapter Three: Holly, Jolly"Shawn LevyJessica MecklenburgJuly 15, 2016 (2016-07-15)
Barb wakes up in an empty pool near a dark creature. She tries to climb out in vain, but is dragged down. Joyce strings Christmas lights around her home, establishing communication with Will, who can turn them on and off. Hopper and his deputies research Dr. Martin Brenner, the laboratory, and a woman named Terry Ives who claimed her daughter was taken by scientists. El has a flashback in which Brenner, whom she calls "Papa", has her put in solitary confinement for refusing to telekinetically harm a cat. Nancy worries about Barb, who is missing. Steve and his friends discover Jonathan's photographs and destroy them along with his camera, but Nancy notices a photo of Barb before she disappeared and returns to Steve's house to search for her. Nancy finds Barb's car and sees the creature in the woods. Joyce establishes a code with Will using the lights, which he uses to tell her that he is alive but unsafe. He tells Joyce to run as a creature begins to climb through her wall. Will's body is discovered in the water at a quarry.
44"Chapter Four: The Body"Shawn LevyJustin DobleJuly 15, 2016 (2016-07-15)
El proves to the boys that Will is still alive by making contact through Mike's walkie-talkie. Using their science teacher Mr. Clarke's powerful ham radio to contact Will, El and the boys overhear Will talking to his mother, saying he is afraid. Simultaneously, Joyce hears him through her living room wall and tears the wallpaper, revealing a flesh-like substance with Will on the other side. She breaks the wall with an axe, but this opens only to her front porch. Examining Jonathan's photo of Barb, Nancy realizes the monster is also visible. Jonathan realizes that Nancy's description of the creature matches his mother's: a humanoid figure with long arms and no face. Hopper confronts the state trooper who found Will's body. Suspicious, Hopper goes to the morgue, cuts open Will's body, and discovers it is a dummy. He heads to the laboratory and breaks in.
55"Chapter Five: The Flea and the Acrobat"The Duffer BrothersAlison TatlockJuly 15, 2016 (2016-07-15)
Will's father Lonnie assures Joyce that her experiences are hallucinations. The boys conclude that Will is trapped in an alternative dimension which El calls the Upside-Down: the same place but on another level of existence. Hopper infiltrates the Hawkins National Lab and discovers the portal. He pursues the creature but is knocked out by suited guards. He wakes up in his own home and finds it bugged. After Will's funeral, the boys ask Mr. Clarke about dimensions, who he tells them that a spacetime tear could create a passage between dimensions. The deputies inform Hopper that Barb's car was found by the state; Hopper finds the state's involvement suspicious. Positing that a tear in spacetime would disrupt the electromagnetic field, the boys follow their compasses to find the source of the disruption. El remembers being placed in a sensory-deprivation tank to telepathically intercept information from a Russian spy; while listening to the spy, she came across the creature. Scared of finding the gate, El directs the compasses away from the laboratory. Lucas notices the distortion and confronts her. Mike defends her, and he and Lucas fight. El telekinetically flings Lucas off Mike; Lucas recovers and runs away. In the woods, Nancy and Jonathan find a wounded deer, which the creature drags away. Following the blood trail, Nancy crawls through a passage to the Upside-Down world and discovers the creature feasting upon the deer.
66"Chapter Six: The Monster"The Duffer BrothersJessie Nickson-LopezJuly 15, 2016 (2016-07-15)
Jonathan pulls Nancy through the portal, saving her from the creature. In her bedroom, she is afraid to be alone and asks Jonathan to stay. Steve sees them together through her bedroom window. The next day, Nancy and Jonathan resolve to kill the monster and purchase supplies from an army surplus store. After a fist fight with Steve, Jonathan is arrested after he inadvertently assaults an officer. Joyce and Hopper decide to investigate together after Hopper discovers his home has been bugged. They track down Terry Ives; she is El's biological mother, who underwent MKUltra training while pregnant. Jane, now known as "011", was taken by Brenner. El shoplifts frozen waffles and recalls how she accidentally opened the gate to the Upside-Down on a reconnaissance mission, allowing the monster through. While searching for El, Mike and Dustin are ambushed by Troy and his bully friend; Troy holds Dustin at knifepoint and demands that Mike jump off the cliff into the lake where Will's body was discovered, which will likely kill him. Mike jumps but is levitated to safety by El. Lucas sees agents leaving the laboratory and realizes they are heading to Mike's house to capture El.
77"Chapter Seven: The Bathtub"The Duffer BrothersJustin DobleJuly 15, 2016 (2016-07-15)
Lucas warns Mike via walkie-talkie that government agents are en route. Mike, Dustin, and El flee the house and narrowly escape with Lucas; El telekinetically flips a van that blocks their path. At their junkyard base, Lucas reconciles with Mike and El. Joyce and Hopper are called to the police station, where they find Nancy with Jonathan, and Jonathan reveals his knowledge about the creature to his mother and Hopper. The group contacts Mike and his friends, and they rendezvous with him at the junkyard, formulating a plan to make a sensory-deprivation tank to amplify El's powers so she can search for Will and Barb. They break into the middle school and construct the tank in the gym. With Joyce's help, El successfully enters the Upside-Down to find Barbara dead and Will alive, hiding in the Upside-Down "Castle Byers", his makeshift fort. Hopper and Joyce attempt to break into Hawkins Laboratory to save Will, but are apprehended by security guards. Nancy and Jonathan resolve to kill the monster, and steal their hunting gear back from the police station. In the Upside-Down, the monster breaks into the fort where Will is hiding.
88"Chapter Eight: The Upside Down"The Duffer BrothersStory by : Paul Dichter
Teleplay by : The Duffer Brothers		July 15, 2016 (2016-07-15)
Interrogated by Brenner, Hopper gives up El's location in exchange for neutrality and access to the gate. He and Joyce enter in Hazmat suits and discover the creature's nest, where they find Will unconscious with a slug-like creature in his esophagus. Nancy and Jonathan booby-trap the Byers' home, then cut their hands to attract the creature with their blood. Steve arrives, intending to apologize to Jonathan about their fight. The monster attacks and Steve traps it, but it escapes back to the Upside-Down. In the middle school, where El and the boys are hiding, Mike asks El to a school dance, then kisses her. Agents storm the school, but El crushes their brains. As Brenner recovers the weakened El, the monster enters and begins to attack Brenner. The boys escape with El and hide in a room, until the monster finds and tries to attack them. El pins it against a wall, says goodbye to Mike, and both vanish. Will is hospitalized and reunited with his mother, brother, and friends. Hopper is reluctantly picked up by a black car. One month later, Nancy has gotten back together with Steve, and both are friends with Jonathan. Hopper leaves Eggos in a box in the woods. In the bathroom of his home, Will coughs up a slug-like creature, briefly sees the world like the Upside-Down, and returns to dinner.

Season 2

Despite revealing episode titles for the season in the announcement teaser in order "to provide some hint of where we were going in season two without giving anything away,"[21][22] Matt Duffer stated that some of the titles would change, since there were some things "we didn’t want to put on there because we felt like it would give too much away."[22]

No.
overall		No. in
season		Title [21]Directed byWritten byOriginal release date [23]
91"Madmax"TBDTBD2017 (2017)
102"The Boy Who Came Back to Life"TBDTBD2017 (2017)
113"The Pumpkin Patch"TBDTBD2017 (2017)
124"The Palace"TBDTBD2017 (2017)
135"The Storm"TBDTBD2017 (2017)
146"The Pollywog"TBDTBD2017 (2017)
157"The Secret Cabin"TBDTBD2017 (2017)
168"The Brain"TBDTBD2017 (2017)
179"The Lost Brother"TBDTBD2017 (2017)

Production and release

Stranger Things was created by Matt and Ross Duffer,[24] who wrote and directed the series with Shawn Levy as executive producer.[25] The Duffer Brothers originally wanted to call the series Montauk and set it on Long Island, but filming locations around Atlanta, GA could not pass for a beachside setting, so they went with Indiana instead.[26] The show's first season was released worldwide on Netflix on July 15, 2016.[27]

Matt and Ross Duffer have cited several influences on the series, including Stephen King, John Carpenter, Steven Spielberg, Guillermo del Toro, Alien, Japanese anime such as Akira and Elfen Lied, and video games such as Silent Hill and The Last of Us.[28]

On August 31, 2016, Netflix renewed Stranger Things for a second season of nine episodes, to be released in 2017.[23] The Duffer Brothers revealed that the series had been renewed for a second season before the first premiered. Regarding the decision to wait more than a month after the first season premiered to announce the renewal, Matt Duffer said, "it actually ended up working because it had built up to this fever pitch. I guess that’s what [Netflix] were intending to do all the time."[22] The season will also take place outside of Hawkins, Indiana.[29]

Reception

Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes gave the series an approval rating of 95% based on 58 reviews and a weighted average score of 8.2/10. 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."[30] Review aggregator Metacritic gave the series a normalized score of 76 out of 100 based on 34 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[31] According to Symphony Advanced Media, within the first 35 days of release, Stranger Things averaged around 14.07 million adults between the ages 18–49. This made it the third most-watched season of Netflix original content behind the first season of Fuller House and season four of Orange Is the New Black.[32]

Emily Nussbaum, writing for The New Yorker praised the show and Winona Ryder's performance.[33]

Soundtrack

The Stranger Things original soundtrack was composed by Michael Stein and Kyle Dixon of the electronic band Survive.[34] It makes extensive use of synthesisers in homage to 1980s artists and film composers including Jean-Michel Jarre, Tangerine Dream, Vangelis, Goblin, John Carpenter, Giorgio Moroder, and Fabio Frizzi.[35] Excerpts from actual Tangerine Dream and Vangelis tracks have also been used in the series.

Stein and Dixon got the gig after the Duffer Brothers used a Survive song in the mock trailer they created to pitch the show to Netflix.[36] The two were hired for the project before casting began, and created demos to be played over the actors' audition tapes, which influenced the casting.[36]

On August 10, 2016, Stranger Things' social media profiles announced that the original soundtrack would be available for digital download and streaming on August 10 for Volume 1, and August 19 for Volume 2. Volume 1 was made available September 16 for the digital CD, while Volume 2 was released the following week.[37]

References

  1. ^ "Film Shooting on the Square Next Week". Jackson Progress-Argus. November 17, 2015. Retrieved November 24, 2015. ((cite web)): Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  2. ^ Ho, Rodney (July 19, 2016). "New Netflix drama series Stranger Things to shoot in Atlanta". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Retrieved January 27, 2016.
  3. ^ "Netflix to premiere original series Montauk in 2016". Reuters. April 2, 2015. Retrieved April 3, 2015.
  4. ^ "Stranger Things is an Homage to the Greats". FrightFind. July 26, 2016. Retrieved July 26, 2016.
  5. ^ Leeds, Sarene (July 13, 2016). "How Netflix's Stranger Things Channels Steven Spielberg, John Carpenter and Stephen King". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved July 29, 2016.
  6. ^ Doty, Meriah (July 21, 2016). "Stranger Things: 21 '80s Relics We've Spotted So Far". TheWrap. Retrieved July 29, 2016.
  7. ^ Tobias, Scott (July 18, 2016). "A Stranger Things Glossary: Every Major Film Reference in the Show, From A–Z". Vulture.com. Retrieved August 31, 2016.
  8. ^ Kimber, Tyree (July 26, 2016). "Strange Influences: Our Favorite Movie References From Stranger Things". Boomhowdy.com. Retrieved July 29, 2016.
  9. ^ Hutchinson, Sean (July 19, 2016). "Every '80s Pop Culture References in Stranger Things". Inverse. Retrieved July 29, 2016.
  10. ^ "These three new characters will reportedly join 'Stranger Things' in Season 2". September 1, 2016.
  11. ^ "'Stranger Things': How Netflix's Retro Hit Resurrects the Eighties".
  12. ^ Gallagher, Caitlin (July 15, 2016). "Is Hawkins A Real Town? 'Stranger Things' Will Make You Nostalgic For These Other '80s Classics". Bustle. Retrieved August 5, 2016.
  13. ^ a b Ausiello, Michael (June 15, 2015). "Scoop: Winona Ryder to Headline Untitled Netflix Supernatural Thriller". TVLine. Retrieved August 24, 2015.
  14. ^ a b c d e f g h Andreeva, Nellie (August 20, 2015). "Duffer Bros. Netflix Supernatural Drama Series Sets Young Cast, Gets Title". Deadline.com. Retrieved August 24, 2015.
  15. ^ Petski, Denise (September 1, 2015). "Cara Buono Joins Netflix's 'Stranger Things'; Dean Cain In 'Lady Dynamite'". Deadline.com. Retrieved July 17, 2016.
  16. ^ "Netflix's 'Stranger Things' Adds Matthew Modine to Cast (Exclusive)". TheWrap. October 27, 2015. Retrieved July 17, 2016.
  17. ^ Pedersen, Erik (June 9, 2016). "'Stranger Things' Trailer: First Look At Netflix's Supernatural Drama Starring Winona Ryder & Matthew Modine". Deadline.com. Retrieved August 4, 2016.
  18. ^ Coates, Tyler (August 1, 2016). "This 19-Year-Old Unknown Actress Just Became an '80s Cult Icon". Esquire. Retrieved August 4, 2016.
  19. ^ Petski, Denise (September 1, 2015). "Ross Patridge Joins cast of Stranger Things". Deadline.com. Retrieved August 4, 2016.
  20. ^ Kubai, Andy (August 19, 2016). "'Stranger Things' Real Life Conspiracy and Occult Connections". Screenrant.com. Retrieved August 22, 2016.
  21. ^ a b Connolly, Kelly (August 31, 2016). "Stranger Things season 2 episode titles: What do they mean?". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved September 1, 2016.
  22. ^ a b c O'Connell, Michael (October 12, 2016). "The Duffer Brothers Are Reading Your 'Stranger Things' Reddit Theories". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved October 13, 2016.
  23. ^ a b Wagmeister, Elizabeth (August 31, 2016). "Stranger Things Renewed at Netflix, Season 2 to Premiere in 2017". Variety. Retrieved August 31, 2016.
  24. ^ Mellor, Louisa (July 15, 2016). "Netflix's Stranger Things spoiler-free review". Den of Geek. Retrieved July 17, 2016.
  25. ^ Andreeva, Nellie (April 2, 2015). "Netflix Orders Supernatural Drama Series From Matt & Ross Duffer, Shawn Levy". Deadline.com. Retrieved April 3, 2015.
  26. ^ "Georgia Locations for Netflix's 'Stranger Things'". July 28, 2016.
  27. ^ "Netflix's New Releases Coming in July 2016". The Hollywood Reporter. June 21, 2016. Retrieved September 1, 2016.
  28. ^ Inside ‘Stranger Things’: The Duffer Bros. on How They Made the TV Hit of the Summer, The Daily Beast
  29. ^ Hime, Nelly (September 1, 2016). "Stranger Things Season 2 Confirmed, Duffer Brothers Reveal Details". Nagame Digital. Retrieved October 8, 2016.
  30. ^ "Stranger Things: Season 1". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango. Retrieved August 26, 2016.
  31. ^ "Stranger Things: Season 1". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved August 17, 2016.
  32. ^ Holloway, Daniel (August 25, 2016). "'Stranger Things' Ratings: Where Series Ranks Among Netflix's Most Watched". Variety. Retrieved August 26, 2016.
  33. ^ Nussbaum, Emily (August 22, 2016). ""Stranger Things" and "The Get Down"". The New Yorker. Retrieved September 3, 2016.
  34. ^ Kaufman, Gil (August 29, 2016). "Stranger Things Co-Composer Shares the Story Behind 2016's Most Unlikely Musical Sensation". Billboard. Retrieved August 31, 2016.
  35. ^ "Stranger Things: 10 eerie electronic gems to hear if you loved the Netflix show". FACT Magazine: Music News, New Music. Retrieved September 5, 2016.
  36. ^ a b NME.COM. "An Interview With S U R V I V E: The Mysterious Band Behind The Epic 'Stranger Things' Score | NME.COM". NME.COM. Retrieved September 5, 2016.
  37. ^ Minsker, Evan (August 10, 2016). "Netflix's Stranger Things Soundtrack Detailed". Pitchfork. Retrieved August 19, 2016.
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