Stranger Things

***Stranger Things*** is an American science-fiction horror television series created by the Duffer Brothers and streaming on Netflix. The brothers serve as

### Language

English

showrunners and are executive producers along with Shawn Levy and Dan Cohen. The series premiered on Netflix on July 15, 2016. Set in the 1980s in the fictional town of Hawkins, Indiana, the first season focuses on the investigation into the disappearance of a young boy (Will Byers) amid supernatural events occurring around the town, including the appearance of a girl with psychokinetic abilities. The second season focuses on Will's side effects from being in the Upside Down with its entities crawling into the real world. The third season focuses Eleven and Mike's relationship as the kids continue their battle against the Upside Down entities. The series stars an ensemble cast including Winona Ryder, David Harbour, Finn Wolfhard, Millie Bobby Brown, Gaten Matarazzo, Caleb McLaughlin, Noah Schnapp, Sadie Sink, Natalia Dyer, Charlie Heaton, Joe Keery, Cara Buono and Dacre Montgomery.

The Duffer Brothers developed the series as a mix of investigative drama alongside supernatural elements portrayed with horror, science fiction and childlike sensibilities. Setting the series in the 1980s, the Duffer Brothers infused references to the pop culture of that decade while several themes and directorial aspects were inspired primarily by the works of Steven Spielberg, John Carpenter, and Stephen King, as well as anime and video games. They also took inspiration from strange experiments that took place during the Cold War and real world conspiracy theories involving secret government experiments.

*Stranger Things* has attracted record viewership on Netflix and has a broad, active and international fan base. The series has received critical acclaim for its characterization, pacing, atmosphere, acting, soundtrack, directing, writing, and homages to 1980s films. The series has received multiple awards and nominations including 39 Primetime Emmy Award nominations (and six wins), four Golden Globe Award nominations, a British Academy Television Award nomination, two Directors Guild of America Award nominations, three Writers Guild of America Award nominations, and three Grammy Award nominations. It has won a Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series, two American Film Institute awards, a Critics' Choice Television Award, and three People's Choice Awards, among others. In September 2019, the series was renewed for a fourth season. The Duffer Brothers have said that *Stranger Things* is likely to end after its fourth or fifth season.

## Overview

*Stranger Things* is set in the fictional rural town of Hawkins, Indiana, during the early 1980s. The nearby Hawkins National Laboratory ostensibly performs scientific research for the United States Department of Energy, but secretly does experiments into the paranormal and supernatural, including those that involve human test subjects. Inadvertently, they have created a portal to an alternate dimension, "the Upside Down". The influence of the Upside Down starts to affect the unknowing residents of Hawkins in calamitous ways.

The first season begins in November 1983, when Will Byers is abducted by a creature from the Upside Down. His mother, Joyce, and the town's police chief, Jim Hopper, search for Will. At the same time, a young psychokinetic girl called Eleven escapes from the laboratory and assists Will's friends, Mike, Dustin, and Lucas, in their own efforts to find Will.

The second season is set a year later, starting in October 1984. Will has been rescued, but few know of the details of the events. When it is discovered that Will is still being influenced by entities from the Upside Down, his friends and family learn there is a larger threat to their universe from the Upside Down.

The third season is set several months later, in the days leading up to the Fourth of July celebration in 1985. The new Starcourt Mall has become the center of attention for Hawkins' residents, putting most other stores out of business. Hopper becomes increasingly concerned about Eleven and Mike's relationship while still trying to care for Joyce. Unbeknownst to the town, a secret Soviet laboratory under Starcourt seeks to open the gateway to the Upside Down, allowing the entities from the Upside Down to possess people in Hawkins and creating a new horror to deal with.

## Cast And Characters

* Winona Ryder as Joyce Byers, the mother of Will and Jonathan Byers. She is divorced from Lonnie Byers. In season two, she is dating her old high school classmate, Bob, until his death later in the season. She and Hopper are suggested to have feelings for each other.
* David Harbour as Jim Hopper, chief of Hawkins Police Department. After his young daughter died of cancer, Hopper divorced and lapsed into alcoholism. Eventually he grows to be more responsible, saving Joyce's son as well as taking Eleven as his adopted daughter. It is revealed that he and Joyce have feelings for each other.
* Finn Wolfhard as Mike Wheeler, middle child of Karen and Ted Wheeler, brother of Nancy and Holly, and one of three friends of Will Byers. He is an intelligent and conscientious student and is committed to his friends. He develops romantic feelings for Eleven.
* Millie Bobby Brown as Eleven / Jane Hopper ("El"), a young girl with telepathic and psychokinetic abilities and a limited vocabulary. Her real name is Jane, and she is the biological daughter of Terry Ives. After escaping from Hawkins Laboratory, where experiments were being performed on her, she befriends Mike, Dustin, and Lucas. She develops romantic feelings for Mike. At the end of the second season, Hopper adopts Eleven. In the third season she and Hopper grow closer and he starts to regard her more as his own daughter.
* Gaten Matarazzo as Dustin Henderson, one of Will Byers' 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 and they share their only scene together in the last episode of season 3.
* 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.
* 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.
* Charlie Heaton as Jonathan Byers, the older brother of Will Byers and the son of Joyce Byers. He is a quiet 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 teenaged Nancy, middle schooler Mike, and toddler Holly.
* Matthew Modine as Martin Brenner (season 1; recurring season 2), the scientist in charge of Hawkins Laboratory. Manipulative and remote, he and his team are searching for Eleven.
* Noah Schnapp as Will Byers (seasons 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.
* Sadie Sink as Max Mayfield (seasons 2–present), Billy's younger stepsister, and a tomboy who catches the attention of both Lucas and Dustin, eventually choosing Lucas.
* Joe Keery as Steve Harrington (seasons 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.
* Dacre Montgomery as Billy Hargrove (seasons 2–3), Max's violent, unpredictable, and abusive older stepbrother. He challenges Steve's popularity.
* Sean Astin as Bob Newby (season 2; guest season 3), a former schoolmate of Joyce and Hopper who runs the Hawkins RadioShack and is Joyce's boyfriend, putting him at odds with Hopper.
* Paul Reiser as Sam Owens (season 2; 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.
* Maya Hawke as Robin Buckley (season 3–present), an "alternative" girl who works alongside Steve at the ice cream store in the mall.
* Priah Ferguson as Erica Sinclair (season 3–present; recurring season 2), Lucas's 10-year-old sister.
* Brett Gelman as Murray Bauman (season 4; recurring seasons 2–3), a conspiracy theorist, private investigator and long time friend of Hopper's.
* Jamie Campbell Bower as Peter Ballard (season 4)
* Eduardo Franco as Argyle (season 4)
* Joseph Quinn as Eddie Munson (season 4)