The Duffer Brothers

**Matt and Ross Duffer** (born February 15, 1984) are American film and television writers, directors, and producers. They created and serve as executive

## The Duffer Brothers

Matt (left) and Ross (right) Duffer at the 2017 San Diego Comic-Con

### Born

February 15, 1984 (age 37), Durham, North Carolina, U.S.

### Occupation

Film and television writers, directors, producers

### Spouse(s)

Ross: Leigh Janiak ​(m. 2015)

producers of the Netflix science fiction-horror series *Stranger Things*. They also wrote and directed the 2015 psychological horror film *Hidden*, and wrote and produced episodes for the Fox mystery-science fiction series *Wayward Pines*.

They are twin brothers and have had a close relationship since childhood. They work on all their projects as a pair.

## Career

After the brothers had written and directed several short films, their script for the post-apocalyptic horror film *Hidden* was acquired by Warner Bros. Pictures in 2011. The brothers would go on to direct the film *Hidden*, which was released in 2015. Next the Duffer brothers were hired as writer/producers for the Fox television series *Wayward Pines*.

### *Stranger Things*

With experience in television, they began pitching their idea for *Stranger Things*, which Dan Cohen eventually brought to Shawn Levy. Backed by Levy's 21 Laps production company, the show was quickly picked up by Netflix. The show is set in the 1980s Indiana and is an homage to '80s pop culture, inspired and aesthetically informed by the works of Steven Spielberg, John Carpenter, Stephen King, and George Lucas, among others.

It was released on July 15, 2016, to overwhelming praise, specifically for its characterization, pacing, atmosphere, acting, soundtrack, directing, writing, and homages to 1980s genre films. It began to develop a cult following online. Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes gave the series an approval rating of 95%, based on 82 reviews, with a weighted average score of 7.96/10. 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." On August 31, 2016, Netflix renewed the series for a second season of nine episodes, which were released on October 27, 2017. In December 2017, Netflix renewed the series for a third season of eight episodes, which were released on July 4.

On September 30, 2019, Netflix greenlit the fourth season of *Stranger Things*. In addition, Netflix announced they had signed the Duffers to a nine-figure deal for additional films and television shows over multiple years

## Personal life

The Duffer Brothers were born and raised in Durham, North Carolina. They began making films in the third grade, using a Hi8 video camera that was a gift from their parents. They attended the Duke School for Children from grades K-8, a private suburban school, and then the Charles E. Jordan High School, a large Durham public school. They relocated to Orange, California, to study film at Chapman University's Dodge College of Film and Media Arts, where they graduated in 2007.

Ross Duffer married director Leigh Janiak in Palm Springs, California in December 2015. The couple met in 2006 at a production company in Los Angeles, where she was an assistant to the producer and he was an intern. In March 2018, the Duffer Brothers were accused on social media of verbal abuse on the *Stranger Things* set by a grip who worked on the show. She said that she would not return for Season 3 because the Duffer Brothers created a hostile work environment for women. The brothers denied this claim, and an investigation by Netflix found no wrongdoing. The brothers had previously been criticized for coaxing teenage actress Sadie Sink into performing an unscripted kissing scene. Sink later said she had no objection.