The Duffer Brothers: who are the creators of Stranger Things?
Behind the scenes · The creators · Matt and Ross Duffer
The Duffer brothers, the Duffer Brothers for the American audience, are the creators of Stranger Things. Matt and Ross Duffer are twins, born in 1984 in North Carolina, and wrote, produced and largely directed the five seasons of the show. Their project, then titled Montauk, was turned down by about fifteen networks before being accepted in 2015. Portrait of the two men behind Hawkins.
The essentials
- Born: February 15, 1984, Durham, North Carolina
- Training: Chapman University, Californie
- Before: Hidden (2015), writers of Wayward Pines
- Company: Upside Down Pictures, founded in 2022
Contents
The Duffer Brothers: two twins, one camera
Matt and Ross Duffer grow up in Durham, North Carolina, and shoot films from elementary school with a camera given by their parents. They cite, as childhood references, E.T., The Goonies, Stand by Me, Poltergeist, Stephen King novels and role-playing games. They study film at Chapman University, in California, where they make noticed short films.
Their first feature, Hidden, a post-apocalyptic chamber piece in a shelter, comes out quietly in 2015. In the meantime, M. Night Shyamalan hires them as writers on the series Wayward Pines, their first real television experience.
The show's T-shirt, for those who have seen everything.
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Montauk, turned down fifteen times
In 2013, they write a pilot titled Montauk: a child's disappearance in a small town, a secret lab, a girl with powers, the 80s. About fifteen networks turn it down, with the same argument: a children's story cannot be a series for adults, you have to choose. A producer, Shawn Levy, believes in it, and the platform buys the project in 2015.
The Duffers get what few beginners get: writing and directing a majority of episodes themselves, from Season 1, with Shawn Levy for the others. The show comes out in July 2016 and becomes a phenomenon in a few weeks.
The demo tapeTo convince people, the brothers cut a trailer from 80s movie clips (E.T., Alien, The Goonies, Stand by Me…) over music by the band S U R V I V E. That demo tape is what gave the show its music and convinced the streamer.
How they work
The Duffers write each season like a film: a small writers' room, a three-act plan, one monster per season, and a year of shooting. They direct the opening and closing episodes, and hand the others to loyal directors, including Shawn Levy. They also supervise the edit, the music, and, with Nora Felder, the choice of songs.
They are known for rewriting around the actors: Steve was supposed to disappear, Robin and Erica were supposed to be secondary, Eddie was built on Joseph Quinn. They own it as a method.
| Role | Who |
|---|---|
| Creators, lead writers | Matt and Ross Duffer |
| Direction of the opening and closing episodes | Matt and Ross Duffer |
| Recurring director and producer | Shawn Levy |
| Other directors | Rebecca Thomas, Andrew Stanton, Uta Briesewitz, Nimród Antal, Frank Darabont (season 5)… |
| Music supervisor | Nora Felder |
After the show: Upside Down Pictures
In 2022, they found Upside Down Pictures and sign a production deal with the streamer: the Tales From 1985 animated series, the play The First Shadow, a series adapted from The Talisman by Stephen King and Peter Straub, and new projects with no connection to Hawkins. They have said they do not want to direct a spin-off of the show themselves, to let other voices take it up.
They also announced, after the end of the show, a new deal with a film studio. Hawkins, they say, is finished for them.
Markers
| Year | Step |
|---|---|
| 1984 | Birth in Durham |
| 2007 | Chapman University degree |
| 2015 | Hidden; Wayward Pines; Montauk accepted |
| 2016 | Season 1 |
| 2017 | Season 2 |
| 2019 | Season 3 |
| 2022 | Season 4; Upside Down Pictures |
| 2025 | Season 5, the last one |
The figure of the character the Duffers rewrote for you.
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What you know less about them
The twins grew up in Durham, North Carolina, with a father who was a project director at a research institute and a film buff, and a mother who was a part-time real-estate agent. They shot their first films in CE2 with a Hi8 camera given by their parents. Accepted at a film school in Florida, they refused to be separated; turned down in New York and Los Angeles, they finally entered Chapman University, in California, from which they graduated in 2007.
Their Hidden script was bought by Warner in 2011, but changes inside the studio robbed the film of a real release in 2015. It is a producer, Donald De Line, impressed by the script, who asked them to write for Wayward Pines, where M. Night Shyamalan took them under his wing.
How they finished the show
Season 5 was sketched even before the fourth was shot, because of the pandemic, then reworked after the notes received on Season 4, to the point of changing the end of the show. Writing started on August 2, 2022, stopped during the 2023 writers' strike, and the writers' room described the tone of the season as “if Seasons 1 and 4 had had a child,” on steroids. They wrote and directed four of the eight chapters, including the last.
They do not share their scripts in advance: the cast only discovered the finale on September 8, 2024, at a group table read. They said they wanted, unlike Game of Thrones which they admire, an ending without a bloodbath. Two revelations were kept for the last chapter, Eleven's doubt about a happy ending and Henry's origin; everything else was supposed to be settled before.
The projects, outside Hawkins
| Project | What it is | Their role |
|---|---|---|
| Tales From '85 | Animated series between seasons 2 and 3, released April 23, 2026 | Producers, through Upside Down Pictures |
| The First Shadow | Play, Hawkins in 1959, in London and on Broadway | Producers; story co-credited |
| The Talisman | Adaptation of the Stephen King and Peter Straub novel, with Steven Spielberg | Executive producers; Curtis Gwinn showrunner |
| Death Note | Live-action adaptation of the manga | Producers |
| A spin-off series | In live action, in another decade, outside Hawkins | Producers; they will not direct it |
Upside Down Pictures, founded in the summer of 2022 after the release of season 4, carries all these projects. The Duffers have repeated that they would not themselves direct a spin-off series, to let other voices take hold of the universe.
The Hawkins poster, a town invented by two brothers.
In the shopHawkins forest poster19,90 €See the product
TakeawayTwins born in 1984 in North Carolina, trained at Chapman. Montauk, their project, turned down by about fifteen networks before 2015. They write each season like a movie and direct the key episodes. Upside Down Pictures produces the spin-offs, without them directing them.
Frequently asked questions
Who created Stranger Things?
Matt and Ross Duffer, American twins born in 1984 in North Carolina, writers, producers, and directors of the show.
Do the Duffer Brothers direct every episode?
No, but a majority, including the opening and closing episodes of each season. Shawn Levy, among others, directs the rest.
What did they do before the show?
The film Hidden (2015) and the writing of the series Wayward Pines by M. Night Shyamalan.
What are the Duffer Brothers doing after the ending?
They produce the animated series Tales From '85, the play The First Shadow, and new series through their company Upside Down Pictures, without directing spin-offs themselves.
Where did the Duffer Brothers study?
At Chapman University, in California, graduated in 2007, after turning down a Florida school that would have separated them.
What is Upside Down Pictures?
The production company founded by the Duffers in 2022, named after the Upside Down, which carries the animated series, the play, The Talisman, and Death Note.
Did the Duffer Brothers work with M. Night Shyamalan?
Yes: he took them under his wing as writers on the series Wayward Pines, an experience that prepared them to run their own show.