Stranger Things

*Stranger Things*
Stranger Things
Genre	Science fiction; Horror; Mystery; Drama; Supernatural; Epic; Coming-of-age;
Created by	The Duffer Brothers
Showrunners	Karl Gajdusek; 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; Linda Hamilton; Jamie Campbell Bower; Nell Fisher;
Composers	Michael Stein; Kyle Dixon;
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No. of seasons	5
No. of episodes	42 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producers	Karl Gajdusek; Cindy Holland; Brian Wright; Matt Thunell; Shawn Levy; Dan Cohen; The Duffer Brothers; Iain Paterson; Curtis Gwinn;
Producer	Lampton Enochs
Cinematography	Tim Ives; Tod Campbell; David Franco; Lachlan Milne; 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	$870–950 million
Original release
Network	Netflix
Release	July 15, 2016 –; December 31, 2025
Related
	Stranger Things: Tales from '85; Stranger Things franchise;
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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 was released in three volumes, including the finale, in November and December 2025. The show combines elements of horror, science fiction, mystery, coming-of-age, and 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, named Eleven, inadvertently creates a wormhole known as the Upside Down, at a nearby secretive government research facility, connecting Earth to a hostile realm called the Abyss. 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, Linda Hamilton, Jamie Campbell Bower, and Nell Fisher.

The Duffer Brothers developed Stranger Things as a blend of investigative drama and supernatural horror, infused with childlike wonder and 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. The show also drew inspiration from Cold War–era experiments and conspiracy theories involving secret government programs.

Stranger Things has received critical acclaim throughout its run, with praise for its characterization, atmosphere, acting, direction, writing, and homage to 1980s cinema, making it a touchstone of 1980s nostalgia. It has garnered many accolades and is widely regarded as one of the greatest television shows of all time. Stranger Things is a flagship series for Netflix, drawing record viewership with each season's release. The series has expanded into a media franchise, including an animated spin-off, Stranger Things: Tales from '85, and a prequel stage play, Stranger Things: The First Shadow. It has also inspired several books, comics, tie-in media, a pop-up shop, and a Dungeons & Dragons role-playing starter set game based on the series.