Stranger Things (TV Series)

From Iwe

(Difference between revisions)

Current revision as of 13:22, 4 December 2025

This article is about the television series. For the wider franchise, see Stranger Things (franchise). For other uses, see Stranger Things (disambiguation).

Stranger Things

Genre	Science fiction Horror Mystery Fantasy Drama
Created by	The Duffer Brothers
Showrunners	Karl Gajdusek (season 1) Matt Duffer Ross Duffer
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 Brett Gelman Jamie Campbell Bower Linda Hamilton
Composers	Michael Stein Kyle Dixon
Country of origin	United States
Original language(s)	English
No. of seasons	5
No. of episodes	38 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s)	Karl Gajdusek Brian Wright Cindy Holland Matt Thunell Shawn Levy Dan Cohen The Duffer Brothers Iain Paterson Curtis Gwinn
Cinematography	Tim Ives Tod Campbell Lachlan Milne David Franco Ricardo Diaz Caleb Heymann Brett Jutkiewicz
Editors	Dean Zimmerman Kevin D. Ross Nat Fuller Katheryn Naranjo Casey Cichocki
Running time	42–142 minutes
Production companies	21 Laps Entertainment Monkey Massacre Productions (seasons 1–4) Upside Down Pictures (season 5)
Budget	$270 million (season 4)
Original release
Network	Netflix
Release	July 15, 2016 – present

Stranger Things is an American television series created by the Duffer Brothers for Netflix. Produced by Monkey Massacre Productions and 21 Laps Entertainment, the first season was released on Netflix on July 15, 2016. The second and third seasons followed in October 2017 and July 2019, respectively, and the fourth season was released in two parts in May and July 2022. The fifth and final season is being released in three parts in November and December 2025. The show is a mix of horror, science fiction, mystery, fantasy and coming-of-age drama.

Set in the 1980s, the series centers on the residents of the fictional small town of Hawkins, Indiana, after a young girl with psychokinetic abilities opens a gateway between Earth and a hostile alternate dimension known as the Upside Down at a nearby human experimentation facility. The cast includes 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, Brett Gelman, Jamie Campbell Bower, and Linda Hamilton.

The Duffer Brothers developed Stranger Things as a mix of investigative drama and supernatural elements portrayed with horror and childlike sensibilities, while infusing references to the popular culture of the 1980s. Several thematic and directorial elements were inspired by the works of Steven Spielberg, John Carpenter, David Lynch, Stephen King, Wes Craven, H. P. Lovecraft and FromSoftware. They also took inspiration from experiments conducted during the Cold War and conspiracy theories involving secret government programs.

Stranger Things has received critical acclaim throughout its run, with many critics praising its characterization, atmosphere, acting, directing, writing, and homages to films of the 1980s, becoming an example of 1980s nostalgia. It has garnered many accolades. Many publications consider it to be among the greatest television shows ever made. Stranger Things is a flagship series for Netflix, attracting record viewership with each season's release. The series spawned a franchise, including an animated spin-off entitled Stranger Things: Tales from '85, a 2023 Broadway production that serves as a prequel titled Stranger Things: The First Shadow, and also inspiring many books, comics, tie-ins, a pop-up shop, and a Dungeons and Dragons board game based on the series.

[edit] Overview

[edit] Cast and characters

Main article List of Stranger Things characters

Winona Ryder as Joyce Byers, the mother of Will and Jonathan Byers. She is divorced from their father, Lonnie Byers. In season two, she dates her old high school classmate, Bob Newby, who is later killed by the demo-dogs. She and Hopper have feelings for each other.
David Harbour as Jim Hopper, the chief of Hawkins Police Department. After his young daughter Sara died of cancer, Hopper divorced and lapsed into alcoholism. He becomes more responsible, saving Will Byers after he is taken in season 1, and adopting Eleven as his daughter. He and Joyce have feelings for each other.
Finn Wolfhard as Mike Wheeler, middle child and the only son of Karen and Ted Wheeler, brother of Nancy and Holly, and one of Will Byers's three close friends. He is an intelligent and conscientious student and is committed to his friends. He develops romantic feelings for Eleven and later dates her.
Millie Bobby Brown as Eleven / Jane Hopper ("El"), a girl with telepathic and psychokinetic abilities as a result of being one of Dr. Brenner's subjects from Hawkins National Laboratory. She escapes the lab and eventually becomes an adoptive daughter to Jim Hopper and takes his surname, and adjusts to living a normal life with the help of Mike (whom she later dates) and his friends.
Gaten Matarazzo as Dustin Henderson, one of Will Byers'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), whom he met at Camp Know Where prior to the start of the season.
Caleb McLaughlin as Lucas Sinclair, 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. He becomes more popular in season 4 as a result of joining the Hawkins High basketball team, which briefly puts him at odds with his regular friend group.
Natalia Dyer as Nancy Wheeler, daughter of Karen and Ted and older sister of Mike and Holly. Studious and rule-abiding, Nancy finds another side of herself while investigating the Hawkins Lab and the death of her friend Barbara. In the first two seasons, she is the girlfriend of Steve Harrington but breaks up with him and then dates Jonathan Byers. She is an aspiring journalist.
Charlie Heaton as Jonathan Byers, the older brother of Will Byers and the son of Joyce Byers. He is a quiet and kind-hearted 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, mother of Nancy, Mike, and Holly, who is mostly unaware of her children's activities.
Matthew Modine as Martin Brenner (seasons 1 and 4; recurring: season 2), the scientist in charge of Hawkins Laboratory and training Eleven. Manipulative and remote, he and his team are searching for Eleven in season 1 after she escapes. He is referred to as "Papa" by Eleven. In season 4, he returns to help Eleven gain her powers back and protects her from the government agents hunting her down.
Noah Schnapp as Will Byers (season 2–present; recurring: season 1), 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 in season 1. He later develops a connection to the Upside Down and the Mind Flayer due to his capture.
Sadie Sink as Max Mayfield (season 2–present), Billy's younger stepsister, and a tomboy who catches the attention of both Lucas and Dustin, eventually dating Lucas. In season 4, she becomes one of the teens who is targeted by Vecna, ultimately fighting him and ending up in a coma.
Joe Keery as Steve Harrington (season 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 but remain friends. He is known as the "babysitter" of the group since he is often left to look after the kids, particularly Dustin who he forms a rapport with.
Dacre Montgomery as Billy Hargrove (seasons 2–3; guest: season 4), Max's violent, unpredictable, and abusive older stepbrother. He challenges Steve's popularity. In season 3, he is controlled by the Mind Flayer and dies in the process.
Sean Astin as Bob Newby (season 2; season 3: flashbacks), a former schoolmate of Joyce and Hopper who runs the Hawkins RadioShack and is Joyce's boyfriend, putting him at odds with Hopper. He dies at the end of season 2 after being attacked by Demodogs while helping Joyce.
Paul Reiser as Sam Owens (seasons 2 and 4; 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 and helps Hopper adopt Eleven as his legal daughter. He returns with Brenner in season 4 to help Eleven gain back her powers and protects her from the government agents hunting her.
Maya Hawke as Robin Buckley (season 3–present), a girl who works alongside Steve at the ice cream store in the mall who later comes out as a lesbian. She and Steve Harrington are close friends, having worked together at the Scoops Ahoy ice cream shop and later the video store.
Priah Ferguson as Erica Sinclair (season 3–present; recurring: season 2), Lucas's 10-year-old sister who helps the group. She is revealed to be very smart and has an avid interest in D&D.
Brett Gelman as Murray Bauman (seasons 4–present; recurring: seasons 2–3), a conspiracy theorist, private investigator, and longtime friend of Hopper's who helps Nancy and Jonathan in season 2 and Hopper and Joyce in seasons 3 and 4.
Jamie Campbell Bower as Henry Creel / One / Vecna (seasons 4–present), a murderous psychic being from the Upside Down. He was born as a human named Henry Creel with supernatural abilities. After murdering his family and falling into a coma, he was put under the care of Dr. Brenner. Flashbacks in season 4 reveal that he was sent to an inter-dimensional space by Eleven when she was eight years old, where he was disfigured by lightning, causing his appearance as Vecna. Afterward, he emerged in the Upside Down, where he eventually took control of the dimension.
Linda Hamilton as Dr. Kay (season 5), the leader of the military investigating the rifts in Hawkins and hunting Eleven.

[edit] Episodes

Main article: List of Stranger Things episodes

List of Stranger Things Episodes

[edit] Production

[edit] Development

[edit] Writing

[edit] Casting

[edit] Filming

[edit] Visual effects

[edit] Music

Main article: Music of Stranger Things

[edit] Release

[edit] Home media

[edit] Reception

[edit] Audience viewership

[edit] Critical response

[edit] Commentary

[edit] Controversies

[edit] Accolades

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.

[edit] Franchise

Main article: Stranger Things (franchise)

The success of the titular series resulted in a wider multimedia franchise being established, which encompasses the original series, various television spin-offs, a stage play, a line of novels and comics, several video games, and extensive licensed merchandise.

[edit] In popular culture

[edit] References

[edit] External links

Template:Stranger Things (TV Series) Template:Netflix original current series

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 :''This article is about the television series. For the wider franchise, see [[Stranger Things (Franchise)|Stranger Things (franchise)]]. For other uses, see [[Stranger Things (disambiguation)]].''
-{| border=1 align=right cellpadding=1 cellspacing=1 width=255 style="margin: 0 0 1em 1em; background: #ffffff; border: 0px #000000 solid; border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 95%;"
+{| border=1 align=right cellpadding=1 cellspacing=1 width="310" style="margin: 0 0 1em 1em; background: #ffffff; border: 0px #000000 solid; border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 110%;"
 | align="center" colspan=3 bgcolor="#CCCCFF" font-style: italic; background: #CCCCFF; padding: 0.25em 1em; line-height: 1.5em; style="border-bottom:1px solid gray; font-size:125%;" |<span style="color: #000000;">'''''Stranger Things'''''</span><br>