Ross Duffer is the first to admit that the past decade has been a wild ride for him and his twin brother, Matt. Collectively known as the Duffer Brothers, they are the creative masterminds behind Stranger Things, the series that has defined the streaming era and is now preparing to bow out.
The Beginning of the End for Hawkins
The fifth and final season of the global sensation premieres on November 27. Its eight episodes will be released across three separate dates, building towards the ultimate showdown. The heroes of Hawkins, Indiana, are gearing up for a last stand against the supernatural entity, Vecna, who has tormented their town and now threatens to unleash chaos on the entire world.
The show, with its beloved group of underdog kids now on the cusp of adulthood, was born from the Duffers' deep affection for 1980s pop culture. It masterfully channeled the spirit of Amblin films and neon-drenched action thrillers, all set to an iconic synth-pop soundtrack.
Today, Stranger Things is an undeniable cultural force, spawning a prequel stage play, planned spin-offs, video games, real-world experiences, comics, and endless merchandise. However, its current status as a behemoth was far from certain at the start.
An Unexpected Global Phenomenon
The scale of its success was a genuine shock, even for Netflix. The streaming giant didn't fully activate its marketing campaign until viewership numbers for the first season exploded two weeks after its debut.
"The honest truth is we weren't sure we were going to even be able to make one season of the show; we thought that was a miracle," Matt Duffer confesses. "It was originally designed as a limited series, and pretty much the only idea we had was that Will had been in the other dimension, and he was going to be rescued."
After the show became a hit, the brothers and their writing team expanded the mythology of the Upside Down, always allowing the narrative to evolve organically. "That's something we've gotten better at over the years," Matt explains. "Which is not forcing it in a direction that we want it to go but to allow it to grow and evolve, because if it's surprising to us, hopefully it's surprising to the audience as well."
The Pressure of the Final Curtain
This final batch of episodes has been a long time in the making. Production on season four concluded in July 2022, and the core cast of child actors have since grown into young adults. While four years have passed in the show's universe, it has been nearly a decade in the real world.
The Duffers didn't plan for a three-and-a-half-year hiatus, but the dual Hollywood writers' and actors' strikes caused significant delays. Additionally, the final season is packed with complex, effects-heavy sequences that demand extensive post-production work.
The extended wait has only amplified fan anticipation and expectations. Ross Duffer recalls the anxiety they felt while plotting the final season's story. "Our office is right by the LA river and Matt and I would just, no matter how hot it was outside, we were constantly walking back and forth, and generally, if we walked enough, we got moving enough, we would calm down," he says.
Matt adds, "We were already under a lot of pressure because it was the final season and we knew we had to wrap all of this up. We know that long-running shows don't have the best track record in terms of landing the plane smoothly."
Now, with the release imminent, the anxiety is returning. "I am a naturally anxious person, so I usually live in some sort of state of anxiety," Matt admits. This is compounded by the fact that over ten years of making the show, they have had very little time off.
"Ross and I put so much pressure on ourselves, and that's the only small regret I have is that sometimes, we didn't allow ourselves to really enjoy it and take in how amazing this is," Matt reflects. "We've been so focused on the work."
As Stranger Things concludes, so does the Duffers' current chapter with Netflix. Recently, news broke that the brothers signed a deal with Paramount, reuniting them with the former Netflix executive who originally greenlit their show.
Despite the immense success, the raw joy of filmmaking remains unchanged for the brothers. They still tell students at their old film school that the creative thrill they felt making shorts in high school is identical to the highs of working on their global hit.
"The high does not come from the audience reaction for us, the high comes from the making of the thing," Matt says. "The best part of it is the making of the thing."
Looking back on a decade defined by Hawkins, Vecna, and a ragtag group of friends, Ross Duffer summarises the journey: "It's been a crazy but amazing 10 years and we feel so lucky to have experienced it."
Stranger Things season five part one premieres on Netflix on November 27.
